Ian Gustafson; Dinos Communications
CALGARY – The No. 3 University of Calgary Dinos come out with a statement win over their rival University of Saskatchewan Huskies Friday night, picking up a 105-63 win over the eight-ranked visitors Friday night in the Jack Simpson Gym.
The Dinos shot an otherworldly 59.4 per cent from the field and 55.6 per cent from beyond the arc, hitting 15 threes on the night to put the game out of reach for the Huskies. Calgary improves to 5-0 on the season, while Saskatchewan falls to 3-2.
After a slow start early in the first quarter, the Dinos picked up momentum to lead the Huskies 22-14 after the opening frame. Brett Layton led the way defensively in the first quarter, recording five blocks on the night.
In the second quarter, the Dinos continued to light it up offensively leading 49-27 at the half. In the second half, Mambi Diawara came alive offensively scoring 15 of his 17 points in the third quarter, putting up ridiculous three after ridiculous three.
Layton finished with a near double-double scoring 22 points and eight rebounds.
"He was tremendous defensively for us and really helps us rim protect," Calgary head coach, Dan Vanhooren said. "He showed us what he is capable of tonight and that creates a balance for us that is hard to guard."
The Dinos had multiple other players contributing offensively including a 20-point performance from David Kapinga, 16 points from Lucas Mannes, and 10 points from Sasha Pojuzina. It was Kapinga's best night of the season, shooting a perfect five-for-five from beyond the arc, hauling in five rebounds, and dishing six assists.
The Huskies' leading scorer was Maxwell Amoafo, who finished with 13 points and eight rebounds. Freshman Noah Nickel was the only other Huskie in double digits, scoring 10 points in 18 minutes off the bench. Saskatchewan's starting five was held to a combined 26 points on the evening.
Calgary's offensive outburst led to a great night defensively and Vanhooren said it is a matter of his team finally buying into what the coaching staff has been preaching.
"They're right now meeting the expectation defensively we have set all year," said Vanhooren.
Despite winning by a large margin, the Dinos had troubles taking care of the basketball turning the ball over 20 times. The Huskies turned over the ball just 18 times.
"We've got to stop turning the ball over, we turned it over way too much tonight than what we normally do. We can't have 20 turnovers and give up the amount of shots we gave them," said Vanhooren.
The Dinos will face the Huskies again Saturday night, with the rematch scheduled to tip off at 7 p.m. MT in the Jack Simpson Gym.
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Photo by David Moll