Men’s Basketball: Dinos pull away from Cascades in second half
The University of the Fraser Valley men’s basketball team hung with one of the top teams in the nation for the first half on Thursday night, but the host Calgary Dinos stepped on the accelerator after the break.
The Cascades were within 43-37 at halftime, but the U Sports No. 5-ranked Dinos – the reigning national silver medalists – outscored UFV 31-19 in the third quarter and 32-12 in the fourth en route to a 106-68 victory.
Calgary improved to 9-2, while the Cascades fell to 5-6. The two teams lock horns again on Friday (8 p.m. MT, 7 p.m. PT, webcast at ufv.canadawest.tv).
“They brought a little more energy (in the second half), and they came out of the gates really well,” Cascades head coach Adam Friesen said. “They just killed us on the boards and were able to get a lot of good looks from three, and they hit them.”
UFV built some momentum in the second quarter, outscoring the Dinos 24-19 in the frame. Twenty-one of those points came from beyond the arc, led by fifth-year point guard Manny Dulay.
In the third, Calgary ran the Cascades off the three-point line while hitting five treys of their own, sparked by forward Lars Schlueter who hit three in the quarter.
Reigning Canada West player of the year Thomas Cooper paced the Dinos with 19 points, while Mambi Diarawa and Dallas Karch scored 15 apiece for the hosts.
The Cascades’ top scorers were reserves Denver Sparks-Guest (15 points) and rookie guard Riley Braich (a career-high 14 points). Dulay’s 12 points included three triples.
“Calgary’s obviously a tough match-up for everyone, and their athleticism is a tough match-up for us,” Friesen noted. “But we hung in there for 20 or 25 minutes, and it was great to see Riley perform so well.”
Women’s Basketball: Dinos ride huge third quarter to comeback win over Cascades
A third-quarter letdown cost the University of the Fraser Valley women’s basketball team dearly on Thursday evening, as they dropped a 69-59 decision on the road to the Calgary Dinos.
In a clash of teams with matching 7-3 records coming in, the Cascades got off to a tremendous start and built a 20-7 early in the second quarter. But the Dinos found some traction at that point, reeling off a 7-0 run and ultimately cutting the deficit to 29-26 at halftime.
The third quarter was all Calgary – they outscored the Cascades 33-15 in the frame, and though UFV was able to trim a 15-point deficit back inside single digits in the fourth, the rally fell short.
The two teams renew hostilities at 6 p.m. Mountain time at Calgary’s Jack Simpson Gymnasium.
“I thought the second quarter was typical – we had a good first quarter, they came back and made some adjustments and had a good second,” Cascades head coach Al Tuchscherer analyzed afterward. “I thought the last minute of the second quarter we had some breakdowns that gave them some momentum.
“And then in the third quarter, I didn’t really recognize my team. It was just an abysmal defensive performance in the third, against a team that’s been struggling offensively the last little while. To give up 33 points, I’m not sure how that can even happen. Calgary seized that opportunity. We came back in the fourth and played hard, but it was too big a hole for us.”
Turnovers haunted the Cascades on Thursday – they gave the ball away 25 times, compared to just 12 for the Dinos.
Brianna Ghali led the way for the hosts – she racked up a game-high 25 points along with 13 rebounds and seven steals. Bobbi Jo Colburn (14 points) and Erin McIntosh (13 points) also scored in double figures for Calgary.
UFV’s Sara Simovic counted a trio of three-pointers among her team-high 14 points, and Taylor Claggett, Shayna Litman and Kayli Sartori scored 11 apiece.
“I think you’ve got to take the positives out of what we did,” Tuchscherer said, reflecting on how his team goes about regrouping for Friday’s rematch. “I thought we finished the game strong – we regained our defensive composure, and I hope it can carry on into tomorrow’s game.”
