Two of the Canada West best-of-three quarter-final series got under way and will continue throughout the weekend as teams fight for the opportunity to move on the Canada West Final Four championships and earn the two available spots to represent the conference at CIS Basketball Final 8 Event in Halifax.
Victoria Vikes 59 – Alberta Golden Bears 76 (Alberta leads best-of-three quarter-final 1-0)
The Alberta Golden bears jumped out to an early lead and never looked back as they cruised to a comfortable victory. A key stat line was the turnover battle as Alberta took care of the ball with only 8 times turnovers, while forcing the Vikes to 16.
Vikes Top Performers: Pierce Anderson 16 points, 5 rebounds & Ryan Mackinnon 8 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals.
Golden Bears Top Performers: Jordan Baker 18 points, 11 rebounds, 7 assists, 4 steals, 2 blocks & Tood Bergen-Henengouwen 13 points, 4 rebounds.
Up next: Game two goes tomorrow night as the Golden Bears look to sweep the series and book a ticket to the CW Final Four Championships.
Fraser Valley Cascades 81 – Trinity Western Spartans 80 (UFV leads best-of-three quarter-final 1-0)
Unbelievable ending to a hard fought game by both squads. The Fraser Valley Cascades used a 15-0 run in the last two minutes of the game to stun the heavily favorite TWU Spartans on their home floor. Cascades Sam Freeman knocked down two huge three-pointers including what proved to be the game-winner from the right hand side with 8.2 seconds remaining.
Cascades Top Performers: Zeon Gray 26 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steals, Joel Friesen 23 points (3-4 from beyond the arc) & Sam Freeman 18 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists
Spartans Top Performers: Jacob Doerksen 24 points, 9 rebounds, 2 steals, Tristan Smith 15 points, 6 assists & Calvin Westbrook 7 points, 10 rebounds.
Up next: One more victory and the Fraser Valley Cascades will be packing their bags to the CW Final Four Championships.