EDMONTON – Freshman guard Colby Jackson scored a game high 21 points to lead the University of Alberta Golden Bears basketball team to a 79-67 win over the Winnipeg Wesmen on Saturday night at the Saville Community Sports Centre.

Jackson, who is originally from Las Vegas, drained a game high five three-pointers in the win, and finished with a career high 21 points in his fourth career CIS game. He also picked up six assists and a steal, to help Alberta to the weekend split after the Bears lost 71-60 on Friday night.

Sophomore post Sebastien Denault also had a strong night for the Golden Bears as the La Prairie, Quebec native collected a double-double with 12 points and a game high 13 rebounds. Denault also earned one assist, one block and one steal on the night.

As a team, the Bears also hauled down 45 boards in the win, 12 more than the Wesmen, and also outshot the visitors, draining 43% (26-60) from the floor, 41% (11-27) from beyond the arc and 80% (16-20) from the charity stripe, while Winnipeg connected on 37% (20-54), 29% (8-28) and 70% (19-27) from those same areas.

With the win, Alberta improves to 2-2 on the season, while Winnipeg drops to 1-3.
The Wesmen, who traveled last weekend as well, where they lost both games to the Calgary Dinos, were paced by 15 points from sophomore guard Denzel Lynch-Blair, while Jelane Pryce chipped in with 11 points and Nathaniel Johnson added 10 points.

Both Pryce and Johnson fouled out, however, as did Golden Bear rookie Brody Clarke in what ended up being a wild finish.

After shaking off an early 15-10 Winnipeg lead, the Golden Bears cruised to a 24-point lead (64-40) after three quarters, and looked well on their way to a comfortable victory.

Some sloppy play and a resilient and advantageous Wesmen team, however, made the game interesting in the fourth. 

As the Bears began to pile up turnovers and fouls in the fourth, Winnipeg worked its way back into the game with some sharp shooting from outside the arc.

Although the Wesmen managed to whittle the lead down to 11 points, the Bears regrouped to close out the 12 point win, finishing off with a 79-67 victory.

Alberta returns to action next weekend when they travel to Winnipeg for a series against the Manitoba Bisons, while the Wesmen will finally play their home opening series as they host the Trinity Western Spartans.