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Dogs down 17, but comeback to beat Bears
Saskatoon, SK - The University of Saskatchewan Huskies had nothing to lose as they came out for the second half against the University of Alberta Golden Bear Friday night at the Huskiehoops.com Shootout. The Huskies trailed by as much as 17 in the second half, but cameback to stun the Bears with a 70-68 victory and earn a standing ovation from the Huskie faithful.
In the earlier game, the Victoria Vikes took the lead just over a minute and a half into the game and never looked back, beating the Concordia Stingers 82-67. Victoria (4-0) and Alberta (4-4) will meet at 6:00 pm Saturday night at the Physical Activity Complex. Saskatchewan (6-3) will face Concordia (3-4) following that game at 8:00 pm.
Alberta 68 at Saskatchewan 70
"This was a huge character win by our team," commented Saskatchewan head coach Greg Jockims. "We were struggling on offense in the first half and weren't getting any breaks, and we had two starters on the bench in street clothes because of injury. But to keep battling the way we did, when things could have easily gone the other way, shows how much character these guys have. They are a tough group, and I am extremely proud of how they played together tonight."
The Huskies trailed 40-25 at the half, after a period in which they shot only 33.3% from the floor and turned the ball over 13 times. Despite giving up 40 points in the half, Jockims was pleased with the defensive effort of his team. Alberta went to the line 21 times in the first half hitting 17, compared to only nine for the Huskies, who hit six of their attempts.
Dean Whalen then hit a jumper to begin the second half, and give the Bears their biggest lead of the game at 17.
Trailing by 16 points with 15:34 to play, the Huskies slowly began chipping away at the Golden Bears' lead. Over the next 12:25, the Huskies would go on a 33-14 run, taking a 65-60 lead with 3:09 remaining in the game. Senior forward Kevin Langdon scored 15 points during the run, going 7-11 from the field. His three-pointer with 7:11 left to play gave the Huskies a 57-56 lead, their first since they started the game 5-0.
James Hudson hit a three with 14.5 second left in the game to pull the Bears to within two. The Bears had a chance to tie the game at the buzzer, but fell short with their two tip-in attempts.
Kyle Grant had 20 points and six rebounds to lead the Dogs. Langdon finished with 17 points and five boards. Andrew Spagrud had 13 points and six rebounds, while freshman Rejean Chabot contributed 11 points off the bench.
Phil Sudol had 15 points to lead Alberta, nine of which came at the free throw line. He also had a game-high nine rebounds. Whalen finished with 14 points, but was 0-6 from beyond the arc. Tyson Jones added 13 pionts and four assists.
Saskatchewan shot 49.1%, including 63.3% in the second half, from the floor for the game. The Huskies held Alberta to 33.3% shooting in the second half, and 40.0% for the game. The Huskies forced Alberta into 11 second half turnovers, while only committing five themselves. For the game the Huskies scored 26 points off of 20 Alberta turnovers. Alberta only managed 11 points off of 18 Saskatchewan turnovers.
The Bears aslo enjoyed a massive advantage on the boards and at the line. Alberta outrebounded he Huskies 37-30. The Bears also hit 25 of 33 free throws, while the Huskies hit only 11 of 22.
Victoria 82 vs. Concordia 67
After tying the game at two in the opening minute, Victoria exploded for a 31-14 run to take a commanding 33-16 lead with 4:45 remaining in the first half. The Vikes would take a 41-28 lead into the locker room. The Vikes extened their lead to 26 in the second half, and held on for the 15-point victory.
Fifth-year senior Chris Trumpy continued his stellar play, scoring 21 points and collecting four steals to lead the Vikes. Freshman Jacob Doerksen added 16 points and nine rebounds, while Rob Kinnear scored 12 points off the bench.
Patrick Perrotte led Concordia with 19 points, shooting 8-14 from the floor. Andre Johnny and Damien Buckley had 12 pionts apiece. Buckley had a team-high six boards and three steals.
Victoria shot a blistering 55.6% from the field for the game, and held COncordia to just 43.9% for the game. The Vikes also had a big advantage at the free throw line, hitting 17 of 28 attempts compared to the Stingers' 12 for 16 effort.
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