LETHBRIDGE – For the first time since the 2000-2001 season, the Lethbridge Pronghorn men's basketball team heads to the Canada West semi-final, traveling to Edmonton to face the Canada West top seeded Alberta Golden Bears in a best of three series.
 
Game one of the series is slated for 8:00 PM Friday night, with game two the next night at 7:00 PM. Game three if necessary will be Sunday at 5:00 PM. Catch all the action on www.canadawest.tv.
 
The winner of the series earns an automatic bid to the U SPORTS final eight and advances to a one-game Canada West final, hosted by the higher seed.
 
The last time the Pronghorns reached the conference final they lost in three games to the eventual Canada West Champion Victoria Vikes in Victoria.
 
This weekend's series marks the sixth time the Pronghorns and Bears will meet in a best of three playoff series and while the Bears hold a 4-1 advantage, all five previous series have gone the distance.
 
One year ago, Lethbridge and Alberta squared off in Edmonton in a Canada West best of three quarter-final with the Golden Bears prevailing in three games en route to their 12^th Canada West Championship.
 
The Bears also swept the Pronghorns during the final weekend of the regular season this year, beating the Pronghorns 93-88 and 97-96 in Lethbridge.
 
A Look at the Teams:
 
Last weekend, the Pronghorns punched their ticket to the semi-finals beating the Regina Cougars two games straight.
 
In game one, the Pronghorns exploded for 33 first quarter points and cruised to a 115-68 win. Game two, however was a different story, with the 'Horns needing overtime to dispatch the Cougars 105-98.
 
Staying with their offensive trend from the regular season, the Pronghorns lead Canada West in points per game in the playoffs, averaging 110 points in two games. During the regular season, the Pronghorns were ranked second offensively, averaging 89.8 points per game.
 
Like the Pronghorns, the Golden Bears won their quarter-final series two games straight, dismantling the UNBC Timberwolves. Both Bears wins were by more than 30 points, beating the Timberwolves 98-64 and 80-41.
 
Alberta was the best defensive team in Canada West during the regular season, allowing only 66.7 points against per game.
 
Key Players:
 
Fourth-year forward Zac Overwater continued his stellar play and recorded back-to-back double-doubles in the two game sweep over the Cougars. After combining for 67 points and 27 rebounds, Overwater was named the Canada West Male First Star and U SPORTS Athlete of the Week.
 
Kyle Peterson also had a strong playoff weekend, including a 30 points – 12 assist performance in the game two overtime win for the Pronghorns.
 
After missing more than a month due to injury, Dejon Burdeaux is beginning to find his legs and chipped in with 22 and 13 points respectively in the two games last weekend.
 
For the Bears, Mamadou Gueye and Brody Clarke led Alberta offensively in their two game sweep of UNBC. Gueye scored 23 and 18 points in the two games and Clarke chipped in with 18 and 21 points.