LETHBRIDGE – In the opening game of Friday night playoff action in Canada West men's basketball, the #4 seeded University of Saskatchewan Huskies outclassed the #14 seeded Brandon University Bobcats 101 – 76 to punch their ticket to the Canada West quarterfinals.
Dominant from the opening tip, Saskatchewan would cement their status as a threat to advance out of this weekend's tournament and into the Canada West final four. The Huskies would shoot 56% from the field as a team, connecting on 12 of their 24 attempts from three-point range. Saskatchewan also exploited the matchup of big men, scoring 50 points in the paint to Brandon's 22.
"I just thought that our guys competed for the entire 40 minutes," stated Huskies associate head coach Chad Jacobson when asked about his team's victory.
"I thought that was one of the most complete games we played, and I was proud of the effort tonight."
The Huskies were led by 30 points, 6 rebounds, and 6 assists from Marquavian Stephens, while Alexander Dewar and Chan De Ciman chipped in 18 and 17 points apiece.
"Marq is a really special player. He is a gamer. When the lights come on, he shows up. I was really happy with his performance tonight. I thought it was a great team effort. Chan De Ciman was also really effective tonight on both sides of the ball."
When asked about tomorrow's quarterfinal matchup, Jacobson remarked:
"We got to sit back and see what happens tonight. Once we know who wins this game then we will start to get more focused on our opponent. Lots of the prep work has already been done. At the end of the day, it is about us and what we are trying to do as a team."
The Bobcats were led by Jahmaal Gardner's 26 points and 5 rebounds, while captain Anthony Tsegakele added 21 points.
"They are a really well coached team," Tsegakele noted when asked about the game. "They are really deep, beat us five times this year and just outplayed us. Defensively they made it hard for me to get into the paint and all credit to them. They outplayed and outcoached us."
The first half was controlled by the Huskies following the first basket by the Bobcats, with Saskatchewan opening a lead as large as 20. Alexander Dewar and Chan De Ciman would combine for 28 points in the half as the fourth seeded Huskies would head into halftime with a 50-34 lead.
It was more of the same in the second half with the Huskies simply executing their offense at a higher rate than the Bobcats.
The Huskies will advance to the conference quarter-finals where they will face the winner of the game between the #5 seeded UBC Thunderbirds and #12 seeded Mount Royal Cougars. Tipoff for the quarterfinal game is set for 5 p.m. MST Sat. at 1st Choice Savings Centre. Catch the action live on CanadaWest.TV presented by Co-op.
