Box Score

Abbotsford – Despite a late push, the Lethbridge Pronghorns dropped the opening game of the best of three quarter-final with the Fraser Valley Cascades, 66-64.

Two years ago when the 'Horns faced the Cascades in the first round of the playoffs, the 'Horns won the first game of the series but were eliminated after losing the next two games.

Fifth-year guard Logan Reiter led the 'Horns in scoring with 15 points, while fellow senior guard Morgan Duce chipped in with 11 points and Brent Watkins scored 10 off the bench. For the Cascades, Klaus Figueredo led all scorers on the night with 19 points and Jasper Moedt dropped 17 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to record a double-double. Kevon Parchment also registered a double-double with 14 points and 10 boards.

Looking to rid the nerves of the first game of the playoffs, both teams struggled offensively in the first five minutes of the opening quarter, with the teams combining for only 14 points during that stretch. Settling into a better offensively rhythm in the back half of the quarter the 'Horns were able to build a lead of 18-12 after the opening 10 minutes.

Finally settling into a flow of their own in the second quarter, the nationally 10^th ranked Cascades poured in 26 points to enter the half with a 38-34 lead. Statistically not much separated the two teams in the opening half, the Cascades shot the ball at a slightly better clip, 45.7% compared to the 'Horns 41%.

A concerning trend that has developed as of late for the 'Horns was again their struggles from behind the arc, only hitting on two of 12 attempts in the half.

Continuing with the theme from the opening half, neither team was able to take control of the game in the third quarter. The Cascades opened an early seven point lead only to see the 'Horns erase the deficit in short order and take a lead of their own. When the dust settled, the Cascades held a slim 51-50 lead after three, setting up an exciting fourth quarter.

After only scoring two points in the first five minutes of the final quarter, the 'Horns found themselves down 60-52 but a run spearheaded by Reiter and Watkins reeled the Cascades all the way back in. Watkins followed up a Reiter three with tough points in the paint on two separate occasions to turn the eight point deficit into a two point lead with under three minutes to play.

Parchment brought the Cascades back into the lead with a three, but Watkins scored his sixth point in the late going as the 'Horns regained the lead at 64-63.

With only 19 seconds remaining, Manjodh Dulay hit a tough three to give the Cascades a two point lead. After a timeout and the seconds ticking away, Duce had a look from behind the arc for the win but his shot rimmed out, giving Fraser Valley the win and a 1-0 lead in the series.

The 'Horns will look to rebound and avoid elimination tomorrow night in Game two of the best of three series, tip-off is set for 7:00pm PST and will be streamed live on http://canadawest.tv.