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Story by Laurence Nixon, Sports Information Student Assistant, Huskie Athletics

Saskatoon, Sask. - The University of Alberta Golden Bears held on the defeat the University of Saskatchewan Huskies 79-75 Friday night at the PAC in a game that had major playoff implications for the Huskies.

Had the Huskies won Firday night, they would have had a very good chance at finishing second in the Central Division of the Canada West Conference and hosting a playoff series. Now, three games behind Alberta, Saskatchewan must win tomorrow night in order to keep any hope of finishing second alive.

"The guys could really feel the pressure," Huskies head coach Greg Jockims said about the importance of Friday night’s game. "We need to be more relaxed, it seemed like we were fighting everything and just not mentally on the same page with each other."

The Golden Bears lead the entire first half but really began to pull away toward the end of the second quarter as the Huskies began to tense up and force passes and shots. Alberta guard Scott Leigh hit back-to-back three-point shots down the stretch and the Bears headed for the locker room up by nine.

In the second half the Huskies seamed to relax and play their game. Saskatchewan seniors Kyle Grant, Rob Lovelace and Andrew Spagrud came up huge in the third quarter. Rob Lovelace manned up Alberta’s CG Morrison and spun around him in a hard take to the hoop.

Saskatchewan went into the fourth quarter with all the momentum even though they trailed by four, 65-61. The Huskies managed to take the lead by two after Spagrud, at the top of the key, dished the ball to Grant for a three-point shot making the score 67-65.

Alberta matched the Huskies score by score down the stretch and with under 30 seconds to go the Dogs could not buy a basket and the Bears hung on to win 79-75.

Andrew Spagrud is now 76 points away from the Canada West all-time leading scoring record as he scored 23 points. Rob Lovelace scored 15 points and Kyle grant scored 13. The Bears leading scorers were Alex Steele with 22, Harvey Bradford with 14 and Andrew Parker with 13.

The Huskies and the Golden Bears battle again Saturday night at the PAC, tip off is at 7:00 PM.

Game notes: Huskies senior Kyle Grant was honored before the game for being the fifth Huskie all-time to exceed 2000 points in his career. He was presented with a plaque by former Huskie great and fellow 2000-point club member Roger Ganes.