(By University of Regina Sports Information)

REGINA – Mount Royal University used separate 12-2 and 8-0 runs in the second half to pull away from the University of Regina for an 87-77 road win on Friday night at the Centre for Kinesiology, Health & Sport.

All five starters broke into double figures for Mount Royal, led by 20-point performances by both Josh Ross and Glen Yang. Ross finished with 22 points and eight rebounds while leading all players with 38 minutes on the floor, while Yang scored 20 and dished out a game-high six assists.

Mount Royal (6-5) also had 12-point nights from Noah Lewis and Nick Tancon and a 10-point effort from John Hegwood. Hegwood added 10 rebounds for a double-double, while Tancon fell just short of that mark with nine boards. MRU turned the ball over only 13 times compared to Regina's 24, and ultimately the visitors' 28-14 advantage in points scored off turnovers was the difference.

The game started out as a back-and-forth affair with Mount Royal jumping out to an early 15-8 lead before Regina closed out the first quarter on a 9-0 run to go ahead 20-17 after the opening 10 minutes. But Mount Royal pulled ahead for good in the second, scoring 10 consecutive points to take a lead the visiting Cougars would hang on to for the rest of the way.

MRU's two big second-half runs both came at pivotal times. Regina had made it a one-possession game in the third before Mount Royal's 12-2 run – punctuated by three-pointers by both Ross and Charn Gill – gave the visitors a 13-point advantage. Regina scored nine of the next 11 points to get back to within six, but that's when MRU scored eight straight points to go up by 14 with only six minutes to go.

Brandon Tull led Regina with 16 points as the Cougars fall to 7-4 on the season. Benjamin Hillis and Alex Igual both had 11, while Shawn Lathan scored 10.

The two teams will close out the weekend set on Saturday night (8:00) at the CKHS.