The University of Lethbridge Pronghorns men's basketball team just picked up a little self-awareness.
They've also picked up a weekend sweep heading into the semester break following a 73-65 win over the Calgary Dinos in Canada West action Saturday night at the 1st Choice Savings Centre.
The win comes on the heels of an 83-76 decision over the Dinos Friday night and improves the Horns to 4-6 on the season, good for a tie for 11th in the Canada West with the Dinos, who are also 4-6.
"I think it's something I've been searching for all semester," said Pronghorns head coach Jermaine Small. "I think they have to know who they are. I think this weekend we played to our identity, which is defending, getting lots of loose ball and hustling and just outrunning people. If we can do that consistently and get six, seven, eight guys to contribute, I think that's who we have to be. I thought we stuck to that this weekend and I think the results reveal that we stuck to our identity."
On Saturday night, the Horns held a 36-35 lead at the half before pulling away in the second half to earn the sweep.
"I think this is very much a team, (when) we stay true to who we are, we're very good," said Small. "(But) we always have five or 10 minutes where we're not very good. (Friday) night I felt we almost beat ourselves. With tonight's efforts, we had so many different contributions. Kevin (Ibula) was really good and I thought finally our depth showed.
"We focused all week on running the ball and I thought that was the difference, we just outran them and had a few more horses."
Pronghorns first-year guard Kymani Pollard led Lethbridge with 16 points, seven rebounds and six assists. Ibula added 13 points.
Jeff Rodehutskors had 12 points and four blocks for the Pronghorns and Avery Hutcheson chipped in with 11 points, seven rebounds and four steals.
Shae Gibb had 10 rebounds for Lethbridge.
"Consistently we just defended and made it tough," said Small. "We won the loose ball battles and when we had an opportunity, we ran. I think we have some really fast guards. We're not the biggest team, but we play to that. I think once we do that consistently that makes us hard to beat. It was good to see. I'm happy to go into the break with two wins and the guys feeling good about themselves and being confident."
Jeffrey Tezo came off the bench to lead the Dinos with 15 points Saturday night, while Javier Ramos-Yzquierdo had the double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
Ezeoha Santiago also hit double digits for the Dinos with a 14-point outing.
Tag Layton had eight points and two rebounds for the Pronghorns in Saturday's win.
"It's hard not to mention our freshman," said Small of Layton. "He started the game and was ready for the moment. I thought he really built off of (Friday) night's fourth quarter. He's fearless. Even when he makes mistakes, they're of an aggressive and assertive nature, which I love about him. Having a freshman step up like that is huge.
"To see Kevin step up this weekend, and then it's hard not to mention Kymani as well. He really controlled the floor and whenever we needed a basket his speed really showed. It's kind of a coming-out party for a different number of our guys, but I'm just happy our depth finally came through and we're just going to keep building off of that."
Now, a holiday break beckons for the Horns.
"It's needed," said Small. "Because obviously with academics and all that, that's on their minds. But we need the break and I think it's going to give us another chance to refocus and just get better on things we can do better and we know we can do better. Like not having these mental lapses for five or 10 minutes or not being able to score the ball and those kinds of things."
Small noted his team's battle in the first half of the season.
"What I've really liked is there was never a game we gave up regardless of the score and I feel we have that grit," he said. "We always play hard and we never quit. That's something I've tried to instill since I got here and we're seeing it.. We can always shoot the ball better and take more shots and watch the film and focus on the fouls. We're more focused on ourselves and not the opponent. But I'm happy going into the break. We just have to continue to build off of this."
The Pronghorns shot 42.4 per cent from the field Saturday night, 21.1 per cent from the three-point line and were 82.6 per cent on foul shooting.
The Dinos were 33.8 per cent from the field, 30 per cent from beyond the arc and 46.7 per cent on free throws.
