LETHBRIDGE – It has been one year, eight months and seven days but the Lethbridge Pronghorns men's basketball team will return to Canada West action this weekend, hosting the Calgary Dinos for a pair of games to open the 2021-22 Canada West basketball season.
 
 
The Pronghorns and Dinos will hit the hardwood in the 1^st Choice Savings Centre Friday and Saturday night at 8:00 and 7:00 PM respectively. Proof of vaccination with government issued ID is required to attend Pronghorn home games.
 
 
Both games will be streamed live on www.canadawest.tv, presented by Co-op.
 
 
Saturday night, prior to the men's game, Pronghorns Athletics will honour two former greats with a jersey retirement celebration for Shawna Molcak and Perry Mirkovich – read the original release here
 
 
A look at the teams
 
 
In addition to making a return to Canada West, the Pronghorns will also begin a new era under the guidance of new Head Coach Jermaine Small. While hired in the spring of 2020, Small has had to wait over a year to make his Pronghorn debut.
 
 
As well as a new bench boss, the Pronghorns will have plenty of fresh faces on the roster this season with addition of 10 new players over the past two years.
 
 
2019-20 leading scorer Chad Oviatt returns but the Pronghorns had to say good bye to second leading scorer Colton Gibb and point guard Kyle Peterson.
 
 
Also returning from the 2019-20 season is third leading scorer Jeff Rodehutskors, who averaged 11.90 points and just under six rebounds per game.
 
 
Within the group of new faces, the Pronghorns have a mix of experience and youth highlighted by York transfer and guard De'Andrae Pierre. Pierre played for the Lions from 2018 to 2020. Alec Hillman (Olds College), Moreau Darlington (Mount Royal Cougars) and Angelo Mbituyimana (Keyano College).
 
 
Coming off a trip to the national tournament, the Dinos finished second in Canada West with an 18-2 record but lost to the UBC Thunderbirds in the Canada West semifinals. The Dinos qualified for the U SPORTS Championship in Ottawa but drew the eventual champion Carelton Ravens in the quarter-final.
 
This year's version of the Dinos will be missing a big piece this season with the graduation of leading scoring and National Player of the Year Brett Layton. Layton averaged 20.6 points and nearly 15 rebounds a game for the Dinos during the 2019-20 season.
 
Second and third leading scorers Mason Foreman and Ezeoha Santiago return to lead the Dinos for the 2021-22 season.
 
Up Next
 
The Pronghorns head out on the road next weekend, heading to Edmonton, to face the Alberta Golden Bears. The Pronghorns will not return to the 1^st Choice Savings Centre until the first weekend of December.