EDMONTON – Entering the weekend on a four game winning streak to start the season, the Lethbridge Pronghorns could not exact revenge on the team that eliminated them from last year's Canada West playoffs, suffering a first loss of the season, falling 85-72 to the University of Alberta Golden Bears.
The Golden Bears eliminated the Pronghorns in last year's Canada West semi-final, sweeping the Pronghorns in two games straight.
The Golden Bears improved their record to 4-3, while the Pronghorns fall to 4-1.
It was a back and forth game at the Saville Centre, which saw the Bears shoot 13-38 from beyond the arc. Andre Kelly had a team high 20 points in the victory, and monster fourth quarter from All Canadian Brody Clarke lead to yet another double-double (18-13) for the Toronto, ON product.
Mike Pierzchala had a game-high 29 points in a losing effort for the Pronghorns, and was nearly perfect for the free throw line, while Zac Overwater played the fourth quarter in foul trouble, he finished with 20 points.
Turnovers proved costly for the Pronghorns, turning the ball over 21 times on Friday evening, leading to 27 Alberta points.
After making 18 threes in each of the Pronghorns two wins last weekend, the Pronghorns hit on only 5 of 16 in the loss to the Bears.
A trio of first year Bears helped lead the team to victory. Brandon Meiklejohn scored 13 points, while collecting another 5 rebounds, Adam Paige continued his strong play, scoring 12 points in 21 minutes, and Geoffrey James added three assists and a steal.
Alberta took a 44-35 lead over Lethbridge after the first half, only to see the Pronghorns cut the lead back to only six points heading into the fourth. The Bears were able to pull away down the stretch to secure the win.
The Golden Bears were not able to get a spark from the bench last week, but that was not the case on Friday evening. The Bears had 29 points off the bench, compared to only 9 for the Pronghorns.
The Golden Bears host the Pronghorns for the second of back-to-back games on Saturday evening at the Saville Centre. Tip off just after 8:00 P.M.
