LANGLEY, British Columbia – Regina posted its highest offensive output of the season as the visiting Cougars knocked off the Trinity Western men's basketball team 107-89 Friday at the Langley Events Centre.
The Cougars (6-5) outscored the Spartans 31-28 in a high-flying first quarter and never trailed the rest of the way. TWU (1-10) closed the gap inside 10 points in the fourth quarter, but Regina pushed back down the stretch, pulling away for the 18-point win.
Despite the loss, the Spartans Justin Bakuteka (Toronto) had a career night as he collected 35 points, including going eight for 15 from beyond the arc, to lead TWU. Bakuteka also grabbed six rebounds. Taylor Heinrichs (Port Moody, B.C.) added 14 points and seven rebounds while Peter Spangehl (Surrey, B.C.) also had a career game in earning 12 points while shooting six for six from the field.
The Cougars were led by Mike Malecha, who had 28 points while Jonathan Tull had 23 points and Brandon Tull had 20 points. Will Tallman had a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
The win is the Cougars first victory against TWU in Langley since Nov. 20, 1999, when they won 88-80.
"I think it was nice to see Justin do what he can do offensively and Peter did his role, but we're just not getting enough assists," said Spartans coach Scott Allen, whose Spartans team had 17 assists to Regina's 26. "It's a good learning experience but at least were scoring better now and shooting the ball better from the beginning of the season.
"The guys are down of course, but we just have to measure the small successes that we're having and try to keep positive."
Bakuteka came out flying in the first quarter, knocking down three shots from beyond the arc and picking up 13 points, but the tandem of Jonathan Tull and Malecha combined for 21 points to give the visitors a three-point lead after 10 minutes.
"Justin is our best scorer and our number one option and he's recognizing that," Allen said. "He got into the flow and found a nice rhythm."
In the second quarter, Regina took over, outscoring TWU 26-17 and building a 57-45 halftime lead.
While in control of the contest the rest of the way, the Cougars cruised to an 82-66 third quarter lead.
The Spartans pushed back in the fourth quarter led by Bakuteka, who remained hot all night, but the Cougars lead proved insurmountable. Regina ran away with it late and a 3-pointer in the dying seconds was the final dagger of the evening.
The teams will meet in the rematch Saturday at 7 p.m. at the LEC.
Game Notes: Prior to Friday's loss, TWU had won seven games in a row at home against Regina…the Cougars shot 55.6 per cent from the field compared to TWU's 43.0 per cent.
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