Box Score
CALGARY - The University of Calgary Dinos survived a fourth quarter surge from the Lethbridge Pronghorns Saturday night and were able to win their 10th straight game 88-84.
Despite leading by as much as 25 points, the visiting team continued to chip away, eventually tying the Dinos late in the fourth quarter.
"They started hitting a lot of shots," Dinos star Thomas Cooper said after the game. "It got really scary there at the end, but we were able to hang on." After losing by 10 the night before, it appeared at halftime the Pronghorns were on their way to another tough loss, down 52-32.
In the third, Calgary would take a 64-39 lead, but just when it seemed the Dinos were going to run away with the win, Lethbridge started to chip away. They would win the quarter 23-16, but still trailed 68-55 going into the fourth. That's when fifth-year forward Brandon Brine took over, hitting two huge threes to cut the lead to 70-63.
As the Pronghorns picked up their energetic play, they continued to put pressure on the Dinos, as fellow fifth-year senior Rob Olsen made back-to-back field goals and free throws by Dejon Burdeaux made it just a two-point game at 79-77. The Dinos would miss two threes and at the other end, an alley-oop dunk from Brine improbably tied the game at 79-all.
Wanting the ball late in the game, Cooper drove and drew a foul, hitting a free-throw to put the Dinos up one and a short time later, a clutch Lars Schlueter three would make it 83-79. Lethbridge refused to fall, as Zac Overwater's three-point play cut the lead to one, but David Kapinga would respond with a layup and on the next Dinos possession, it was Cooper hitting a key jumper to push it back to 87-82. Burdeaux would make a layup, but Dallas Karch's free throw late made it a two-possession game and Calgary would get the stops they needed for the four-point win. Cooper would finish with 27 points, 10 assists and five rebounds, while Schlueter added 18, all coming from beyond the arc. In a valiant effort, Brine ended with 19 points nine rebounds, while Burdeaux, Olsen and Overwater also ended with double-digits.
With the win, Calgary improves to 14-3 and stays atop the Pioneer Division, while Lethbridge falls to 9-7.
Two highly-anticipated games are coming up for Calgary, as they host the Regina Cougars on Pack the Jack Thursday night, followed by Seniors Night Friday.
"We do want to have home court advantage, but we also have to play one game at a time," Cooper said. "We have to focus on ourselves and come into practice everday and work hard to win ball games at home or on the road, as long as we do what we're supposed to do, we'll get what we want to get."
