Box Score Lethbridge - The Lethbridge Pronghorns once again found themselves down big at the half, but this time couldn't fight their way back for the win as they fell to the hot-shooting Regina Cougars 75-60 at the 1
st Choice Savings Centre Saturday night.
With the win, Regina improves to 3-5 on the season, while the 'Horns drop to 5-3 on the year with the loss.
The Cougars took control in the early going, relying on solid outside shooting and several uncontested threes as the 'Horns struggled to find their rotation on defense. Opening the game on a 12-4 run on three-pointers by fourth-years Jonathan Tull and Will Tallman, the Cougars carried a 16-10 advantage into the break. First-year forward Mike Pierzchala continued his strong play this season and led the Pronghorn attack with six points in the quarter.
In a similar story to the previous night, the 'Horns found themselves down by double-digits midway through the second quarter and struggled to find the rhythm that had propelled them to the third best offense in the conference.
Meanwhile, Tallman went off for the Cougars in the second quarter, draining four from behind the arc, while teammate Travis Sylvestre was electrifying as he poured in 11 points including a three-pointer and a thunderous dunk to close out the half with the Cougars leading 44-33.
Tallman was a blazing 6-6 from the field, including 5-5 from downtown, and he finished the half with a game-high 17 points.
The 'Horns were led by their rookies, with Pierzchala finishing the half with 15 points on 5-5 shooting and Zac Overwater adding seven points to pace the attack.
Hoping to build off of last night's second-half resurgence, the Pronghorns narrowed the deficit to eight points when Brandon Brine nailed a three-pointer early in the third quarter. Rob Olsen later added a jumper to pull the 'Horns within seven, but the Cougars refused to let the game slip away. A trio of three-pointers, including two by second-year guard Ryan Delwo, restored the double-digit lead for the Cougars and they took a 63-45 advantage into the fourth quarter.
The offensive spark just wasn't there tonight for the Pronghorns as the team shot 9-30 in the second half and couldn't string together any solid runs to cut into the Cougar lead. While Tallman cooled off for the Cougars, Sylvestre continued to have the hot-hand, scoring 12 second-half points on 5-9 shooting.
The 'Horns never got closer than 13 points as the Cougars clamped down defensively and did not allow the home team to gather any momentum down the stretch.
Sylvestre finished with a game high 23 points on 10-17 shooting while pulling down 10 rebounds to complete the double-double.
Pierzchala led the 'Horns with 19 points, going 6-9 from the field, while Overwater added 12 points and Brine chipped in with 10. Centre Brent Watkins contributed 12 rebounds in the loss.
The Pronghorns head to Winnipeg next weekend to take on the Manitoba Bisons while the Cougars return home to Regina to face the Brandon Bobcats.
