Matt Johnson, Huskie Athletics
SASKATOON – Emmanuel Akintunde's late put-back layup helped the University of Saskatchewan Huskies men's basketball team escape with a 74-70 victory over the Alberta Golden Bears on Bell Let's Talk Night on Friday, Jan. 25 on Ron & Jane Graham Centre Court at the PAC.
Akintunde led the way for Saskatchewan with 17 points and ten rebounds. Alexander Dewarcontinued his strong play as the first-year guard added 15 points in the win. Lawrence Moore, who will be honored on Fifth Year Night on Saturday, chipped in ten points and eight assists.
Brody Clarke paced the way for Alberta, as the forward who entered the matchup inside of the top ten in points and rebounds in the Canada West, recorded a double-double with 26 points on 7-11 shooting to go along with 11 rebounds. Dwan Williams added 12 points and five rebounds for the visitors.
With the win, the Huskies pick up their third consecutive victory and move to 10-7, as the green and white continue to chase the opportunity to host a quarter-final matchup at the PAC. Meanwhile, the Golden Bears slide to 12-5 with their second straight loss and will attempt to halt tomorrow night.
The Huskies came out of the gates with a dominant first twelve minutes. The home side jumped out to an 11-point advantage off the back of a triple from Alexander Dewar.
Clarke scored nine of Alberta's 17 points in the opening quarter and helped his team hang around, despite Saskatchewan shooting 64.7 per cent from the field in the frame.
The second quarter was back and forth with neither team able to separate themselves until late. The Golden Bears went on an 8-0 run in the final 2:58 of the second quarter to tie it up at 37-37, with six of those eight points coming from Clarke.
Clarke carried the way for the visitors, as the fourth-year forward entered the locker room at halftime with 20 points on 6-7 shooting to go along with seven rebounds.
Alberta outscored Saskatchewan 20-11 in the second quarter, while holding the Huskies to 5-14 shooting, including 14.3 per cent from long-range.
The Huskies came out in the second half with some moxie as after a Robinson deflection, Chan De Ciman picked up the rock, turned on the jets and rattled the rim with the slam, bringing the home crowd to its feet and trimming the visitors lead to two.
Clarke was bringing it on the defensive end as well for the Golden Bears. The 6-8 forward helped preserve a one-point lead for the visitors with a monstrous rejection of De Ciman who was looking to get to the hoop for an easy two.
Moments later, defense turned into offense when Shol Ayoch, a first-year forward from Regina, SK who was playing in his home province for the first time at the U SPORTS level, scooped up a loose ball and threw down a two-handed jam to make it 49-44 in favor of the visitors.
The Golden Bears outscored the Huskies 17-14 in a battle of a third quarter. Saskatchewan struggled to create offence in the quarter and was 0-7 from beyond-the-arc.
With the Huskies trailing 59-57 with under seven minutes remaining in the game, Maxwell Amoafo took matters into his own hands when the big-man ran the length of the floor and continued the home team's dunk parade to tie up the ball game. Moments later, J.T. Robinson connected from long range to give Saskatchewan a 62-59 lead.
With three minutes remaining and a seven-point lead, it appeared as though the Huskies would be able to run out the clock. However, Ivan Ikomey cut the Huskies advantage to four with a clutch three-pointer. Then with just 1:21 remaining, Cole Knudsen's layup made it a two-point game.
After an Akintunde free-throw extended the Saskatchewan lead, Alberta trailed by three. Clarke struck back however as the forward, who saw his minutes restricted late in the game due to foul trouble, showed no rust as he canned the triple to tie the game with 34 seconds remaining.
Moments later, De Ciman was looking to respond with a three-pointer of his own, but he was unable to connect., Akintunde crashed the glass and converted with the put-back to give Saskatchewan a two-point lead.
With the Golden Bears looking for a response late in the contest, Moore came up with a big-time steal at a critical moment in the ball game, which led to Robinson heading to the charity stripe with a chance to seal the win. The fourth-year guard from Vallejo, California stepped up to the line with and knocked down a pair of free-throws with four seconds remaining to seal the Huskies' victory.
Saskatchewan and Alberta will take the floor for the second time in as many nights on Saturday. The Huskies will look to pick up the sweep in the what should be a spirited affair with Canada West playoff implications on the line.