SASKATOON – Two provincial rivals battled until the bitter end but it was the Saskatchewan Huskies who emerged victorious over the Regina Cougars in overtime by a score of 93-89 inside the PAC on Friday night.
 
It was high-drama throughout the contest. A free-throw from Regina's Samuel Hillis tied the game at 80 with five seconds left to play but the Huskies scored the first five points in the extra-frame to give them all the buffer they needed.
 
Alexander Dewar had a game-high 22 points for the Huskies. JT Robinson contributed 19 points and eight assists while Kessler Bishop pulled down a monstrous 21 rebounds.
 
Regina product Carter Millar led the way for the Cougars, recording a double-double with 18 points and 11 rebounds. Both Josiah Thomas and Brayden Kuski had strong nights, putting up 17 and 15 points respectively.
 
The Cougars came out of the gates on fire, knocking down 11 of their 19 shots as team, allowing them to jump out to a 30-16 lead after the opening frame.
 
It was the Huskies turn to respond in the second however, they out-muscled the Cougars down low to the tune of a 16-10 advantage in points-in-the-paint to make the score 46-41 in favour of the visitors at the half.
 
After a back-and-forth third quarter the score line would swing in favour of the Huskies with just 1:36 left to play after Emmanuel Akintunde finished on a lay-up to make it 78-77. A free-throw apiece from Noah Nickel and Kessler Bishop made the lead three with just 14 seconds to go before some heroics from Regina.
 
Hillis sliced in a for a lay-up and Thomas was able to snare the ensuing in-bounds pass giving Regina the chance to win. Hillis could only his one of two free-throws however, sending the game into the extra frame.
 
In overtime a layup from Maxwell Amoafo and a three-pointer from JT Robinson set the tone as the Huskies were able to take the victory.
 
Both of these teams will be back in action tomorrow night at the PAC, with opening tip slated for 7:00 p.m.