Jason Hills, Golden Bears and Pandas Athletics
EDMONTON — As it turns out, eight isn't enough for the No.6 University of Alberta Golden Bears, but they certainly had to work for their ninth-straight win, Friday night at Saville Community Sports Centre.
Fourth-year power forward Brody Clarke led Alberta with 28 points and seven rebounds while freshman guard Brandon Meiklejohn chipped in with 11 points in the 76-68 victory over the University of Northern British Columbia Timberwolves.
Senior guard Jovan Leamy led the Timberwolves with 18 points and 11 rebounds in the loss. The win improves the Bears to 12-3 and clinches them a playoff spot, while UNBC drops to 7-8.
"They won three of the four quarters, and we were lucky we got off to a good start, because they caught their rhythm," said Bears head coach Barnaby Craddock.
"They got the better of us for a large chunk of the game tonight, and we'll have to put together a better performance for four quarters tomorrow."
Clarke scored 18 first-quarter points to carry the Bears offensively, and after the Timberwolves did a good job limiting his opportunities in the second and third quarters, the veteran stepped up with some big shots in the fourth quarter.
"I think Brody is the best big guy in the conference and he's tough," said Timberwolves head coach Todd Jordan.
"When we were able to scrap and work and keep the ball out of his hands, we gave them trouble, but he hurt us tonight."
Alberta jumped out to the 25-12 lead after the opening quarter, but couldn't get in any sort of flow offensively for long stretches of the game.
The Timberwolves fought back several times in the second and third quarters to get within striking distance, but Meiklejohn hit a trio of clutch three-pointers to regain their double-digit lead. Defensively, the Bears once again showed why they're arguably the best defensive team in the conference with another strong effort.
"We went down big early, but the guys fought and scrapped," said Jordan.
"Alberta is such a quality team and they defend at a high level and it makes it really hard to come back when you're down double digits. We made our pushes, but we needed a burst and we didn't get it."
The Bears certainly didn't put on any sort of shooting clinic, and can thank their stingy defensive effort in the win.
Rookie guard Adam Paige, who's been a sharp-shooter in the second half of the season, was held to just eight points on 2-of-9 shooting, while third-year and fourth-year guards Andre Kelly and Ivan Ikomey combined to score just 13 points on 5-of-18 shooting.
"We didn't look good offensively for three of the four quarters and we need to be sharper," said Craddock.
"They're a veteran team, and they forced us into making some tough shots and they really pushed us tonight and we have to be better."
Alberta and UNBC will finish their two-game weekend series Saturday night at approximately 7 p.m. MT.