CALGARY – The University of Calgary Dinos men's basketball team held off the Winnipeg Wesmen once again on Sunday evening, earning a 103-89 victory.
With the win, Calgary moves to 6-0 on the season, while Winnipeg slips to 1-5.
After struggling from the three-point line Saturday, the Dinos were able to regain their stroke, shooting 45.5% from deep. Five players had a least nine points for the Dinos, including Canada West leading scorer Mambi Diawara's game-high 28.
The ability to get to the rim buoyed their offensive performance in the opening half and created space for their shooters later in the game. Fifth-year forward Connor Foreman wreaked havoc against the interior of the Wesmen zone, shooting seven of eight from the field and finishing with a season-high 16 points. The Dinos finished +16 in the paint against the Wesmen.
Winnipeg made its push with seven minutes left to play in the fourth, going on an 8-1 run to make it a five-point game. Unlike in Saturday's contest, however, the Dinos offence answered the bell, scoring nine points in less than 45 seconds to push the lead back to 14.
Third-year guard William Sesay led the way for the Wesmen, scoring 20 points to go along with seven rebounds and five assists. Winnipeg has hung in tough against two of the nations best in the past two weeks, No. 4 Calgary and No. 3 Alberta, and despite their current 1-5 record, looks primed for another trip to the CW playoffs.
Don Dayrit and Marcello Kambola added 14 and 12 points off the bench for the Wesmen, who stay on the road next week with a visit to Fraser Valley.
For Calgary it's another terrific start to the campaign; the Dinos opened the 2016-17 season 5-1 en route to a second place finish in Canada West. The sweep keeps them tied for first in CW with Alberta and Lethbridge. The Dinos will have to be patient for their chance against their in-province rivals, however, as they don't play either team until January.
The Dinos hit the road to close out the first half of the CW season. They visit Brandon next week, before an early December matchup against Saskatchewan.