Lethbridge – Sitting tied for the top spot in Canada West, the Lethbridge Pronghorn men's basketball team is back in action Thursday night at home hosting the Mount Royal Cougars in the first game of a home-and-home series.
 
Tip-off is scheduled at 8:00pm Thursday at the 1^st Choice Savings Centre, with game two going in Calgary Saturday night in Calgary, also at 8:00pm. Both games will be streamed live on www.canadawest.tv.
 
"Week to week we have been improving and still have a long way to go," said Pronghorn head coach Mike Hansen. "Mount Royal is an excellent shooting team and we have to play with defensive energy this weekend."
 
Last season, the Pronghorns and Cougars split the home-and-home series with the home team winning both nights. The Pronghorns dropped the first game in Calgary 93-72, before rebounding to a 83-60 win on their home floor.
 
A look at the teams
 
Sitting at 4-0, the Pronghorns are tied with the Calgary Dinos and Alberta Golden Bears at the top of the Canada West standings. Last weekend, Pronghorns swept Grant MacEwan in Edmonton with a pair of double digit wins.
 
The Pronghorns are the top ranked offensive team in Canada West, averaging 98.3 points scored per game, and have eclipsed the century mark in two of their four conference games. Defensively, the Pronghorns are ranked ninth, allowing 81.3 points per game.
 
The Cougars (2-2) have had an up-and-down start to the new season, splitting both of their first two series. Last weekend, Mount Royal dropped a close 86-80 decision to the Fraser Valley Cascades, before winning game two handily, 88-59 in Abbotsford.
 
The Cougars sit near the middle of the pack statistically, ranked seventh offensively with 83.5 points per game and hold the eighth ranked defence, allowing 75.3 points against.
 
Players to watch
Senior guard Dejon Burdeaux sits second in Canada West scoring, averaging 23.5 points per games. He leads the conference in steals with 15 in four games and leads the Pronghorns in assists with four per game.
 
After a strong weekend in Edmonton, Zac Overwater sits second in team scoring with 16 points per game, while newcomer Saran Westrop is right behind Overwater, averaging 15.8 points. Overwater leads the Pronghorns in rebounding with 7.5 per game.
 
For the Cougars, the trio of Josh Ross, LJ Hegwood and Glen Yang do the majority of the damage offensively. Ross leads the way with 18.5 points per game, Hegwood is right behind at 18 per game, while Yang averages 16.8 points. The rest of the Cougar roster is averaging less than seven points per game.
 
Next up: After Thursday, the Pronghorns will play their next five games on the road, traveling to Kamloops next weekend to face TRU and then heading east to face the Regina Cougars.