The top-seeded University of Saskatchewan Huskies used a strong third quarter surge to knock off the visiting Thompson Rivers University WolfPack 96-82 Friday night in Game 1 of a Canada West best-of-three quarter-final series at Saskatoon's St. Joseph High School.
The Huskies outscored the WolfPack 25-14 in the third while shooting 61% from the field. Saskatchewan trailed 49-43 at halftime and 27-19 after the first quarter.
A solid defensive effort helped spark the Huskies third quarter comeback. Saskatchewan forced seven turnovers and held the WolfPack to just 25% shooting in the period. Canada West Defensive Player of the Year Ben Baker got the rally going with a pair of forced turnovers. Evan Ostertag and Canada West Second Team All-Star Matt Forbes were the beneficiaries of the steals with Ostertag going in for an uncontested layup to tie the game at 54 midway through the third. Once the Huskies pulled ahead they would not trail again.
The Huskies' Baker came just short of a triple-double in Game 1 as he racked up 12 assists, nine rebounds and eight points. Forbes led the Huskies offensive attack with 20 points in 31 minutes. Forward Shane Osayande was a perfect 7-for-7 from the floor to finish with 14 points.
Thompson Rivers guard Brett Rouault led all scores with 22 points. Canada West First Team All-Star Josh Wolfram added another 20 points and four rebounds for the WolfPack.
Not intimated by the first place Huskies, the WolfPack came out with a strong offensive attack in the opening 10 minutes of Game 1. Thompson Rivers jumped out to a 6-2 lead early before the Huskies hit back-to-back three's to pull ahead 12-9. The visiting WolfPack would not back down as they continued to knock down jump shots going on an 8-0 run. The lead grew as large as 10 in the quarter with the WolfPack taking a 27-19 lead into the second.
Saskatchewan seemed to find their rhythm early in the second quarter opening with a 6-2 spurt. A string of Thompson Rivers three's put the WolfPack back ahead by 11 midway through the period. Fresh off the bench, Huskie guard Jonathan Karwacki connected from long range to get the Huskies rolling on a 10-2 run that would cut the deficit to just one. Before the Huskies could gain too much momentum, Rouault was good on a deep three as the buzzer rang for halftime to give the WolfPack a 49-43 advantage.
Thompson Rivers was able to cut the deficit to just one early in the fourth quarter, but the top-seeded Huskies were able to pull away after Trevor Severinski hit a pair of shots from beyond the arc to restore a 10-point Huskie lead. The lead would grow to as big as 18 late in the fourth.
The two teams will meet again tomorrow night at St. Joseph High School in Saskatoon at 7pm. The first two games of the series will be played at St. Joseph High School due to the CIS Men's Volleyball Championship being hosted at the PAC.