CALGARY - The University of Calgary Dinos men's basketball team is riding high after subduing the visiting Winnipeg Wesmen two nights in a row. They continued their strong start to the season tonight by defeating the Wesmen in an authoritative 88-55 win at the Jack Simpson Gymnasium.

Both teams stepped onto the court with matched energy but it became apparent quickly that the Dinos would dominate. The Dinos were able to edge their rivals with strong ball movement and rebounding. The Dinos were able to shut down the Wesmen defensively by forcing them to take contested shots and scored 23 points off of 20 Wesmen turnovers by the end of the night. The vast majority of the game was characterized by Dino domination as they maintained more-or-less a 20 point lead throughout.

Some key success factors were that the Dinos players shared the ball effectively and every player got an opportunity to get on the scoreboard. Standouts from early on in the game were forward Dallas Karch (who ended the night with 12 points on 100% shooting) and forward Lars Schlueter (who ended the night with 8 points and 3 rebounds). Guard Torrez McKoy and guard Jasdeep Gill would be standouts later in the game.

The key standout for the Dinos tonight, however, was guard Thomas Cooper whose dazzling on-court presence elevated the team for the strong win. He finished the night with 26 points (shooting 50% from the field and 5-6 on three pointers), 8 rebounds, and 3 steals. Regarding his success, Cooper said that "we changed the game plan up today a little bit...I changed and went around to some different positions so I was able to get more penetration so I could open up the floor for myself and my teammates."

Cooper, an American transfer from the University of Nebraska at Kearny, is one of the centrepieces of the 2015-2016 Dinos squad. Regarding his transition from the United States to Canada, he said "here I'm more of an athletic player than I was in America because everybody is so athletic [there]. My teammates are so skilled so when I get to the hole and kick it out, they make the right play. They play the game right and they have the right fundamentals whereas in America it's more of an up and down game most of the time"

Next, the Dinos will travel to Winnipeg to face the Manitoba Bisons on Friday, Nov. 13-14.