Posted: Feb 05, 2015
CALGARY - It may have been the night to honour the University of Calgary Dinos graduating players, but the Alberta Golden Bears spoiled the occasion with a 76-67 road victory.
Fifth-year seniors Jarred Ogungbemi-Jackson and Phil Barndt were acknowledged for their careers before the game, but it was Alberta's second-year forward Mamadou Gueye who took centre stage finishing with 21 points and 13 rebounds.
It was a tight game through three quarters, but Alberta took control in the fourth, winning the frame 25-14. The Golden Bears were able to win despite a frustrating night for leading scorer Joel Friesen who fouled out early in the final quarter after scoring just 11 points on 2-12 shooting.
Gueye however wouldn't let his team lose, hitting critical free throws to seal the victory.
"I just did what I had to do," Gueye said. "Joel is a big player for us so when he fouled out we were struggling a little bit, but the rest of the lineup did what we had to do."
Calgary took a 21-14 lead after the first quarter, led by Lars Schlueter who had 11 in the opening frame, including three three-point shots. Alberta would win the second by the same margin to make it 35-all at halftime. It was another tight quarter in the third as Calgary led 53-51 going into the fourth.
The Dinos still led halfway through 62-61, but then a Youssef Ouarig three put the Bears in front 64-61 at the 4:15 mark. Calgary's offense then sputtered as Gueye hit four free throws in a row and Ouarig hit another three to make it 71-64 with 51 seconds remaining.
Ogungbemi-Jackson hit a quick three to cut it to four, but more Alberta free throws and costly turnovers sealed the game for the Golden Bears.
Schlueter led the way for Calgary offensively with 20 points and Ogungbemi-Jackson finished with 14 points, nine rebounds and eight assists in the loss.
Alberta won the rebounding edge 47-40, but free throws were also critical in the Dinos loss, as they only hit 17-26, compared to the visitors shooting 24-27.
The Golden Bears also won despite a massive crowd for Senior Night, making it difficult for the visiting team to hear themselves during timeouts. Alberta also got revenge on Calgary, who beat the Golden Bears in Edmonton 90-84 on December 5th.
"This is a fun crowd and it's always nice to play against our rivals and we got the job done," Gueye said. The loss at home was painful for us, but we just worked harder tonight and did what we had to do, we got a good win and now we're more ready for the playoffs."
Both Calgary and Alberta are tied for third in the Pioneer Division at 12-6. Next week the Dinos wrap up the regular season at Saskatchewan to play the Huskies, which will be critical for playoff positioning.