By Ben Matchett, University of Calgary

CALGARY – The University of Calgary Dinos held off the Thompson Rivers University WolfPack Saturday night to win their sixth Canada West men's basketball title with a 91-84 victory on home court.

It's the first conference title for the Dinos since 2009, and the first time they've won it on home court since 1993. In addition to those two titles, Calgary won the conference banner in 2004, 1976, and 1966.

Calgary heads to next week's CIS Final 8 hosted by UBC in Vancouver as the champion, while Thompson Rivers also advances as the second Canada West berth. Seeding and schedule for the event will be announced Sunday.

In front of nearly 2,000 boisterous fans in the Jack Simpson Gym, the Dinos overcame a slow start, taking the lead late in the first quarter and successfully holding off the WolfPack to bring home the seven-point victory.

"What more could it mean in front of all these people that have been supporting us all season?" asked Dinos head coach Dan Vanhooren, who captured his third conference title in his 16 years at the helm of the Dinos program. "It's been fantastic, and it's such a galvanizing experience for all of our guys to do this at home on our home court.

"The guys have done a good job with preparation all year, and we were up until three in the morning looking at (TRU), trying to get ready, and our team did a great job. I think rebounding tonight was a big deal for us, and we battled pretty hard."

The Explorer Division champion WolfPack came out flying, hitting four triples in the first three minutes of the game to take a 12-2 lead. The Dinos began to find their stride, however, and a three by Jasdeep Gill with less than two minutes to play in the first quarter gave the Dinos a 22-19 lead – an advantage they would not relinquish the rest of the way.

"Coach told us not to worry about the outcome, like always," said conference MVP Thomas Cooper, who led the Dinos with a game-high 24 points. "he just told us to go out and play the same game we've been playing all year – win in transition, play defence, rebound – and the outcome will worry about itself. That's what happened tonight."

Calgary led by 13 at the half, but the WolfPack was not about to go quietly. Using their size, the visitors chipped away at Calgary's lead again and again in the third quarter, outscoring Calgary 25-16 in the frame. Thompson Rivers cut the lead to just four on four different occasions in the second half – but each time, the Dinos were able to score the next hoop to stem any momentum the WolfPack tried to build.

Sophomore Lars Schlueter had a big night for Calgary, shooting 4-for-7 from beyond the arc to contribute 14 points. Mitch Ligertwood had an impressive outing and contributed 12 points on 6-of-7 shooting, while Gill and Josh Owen-Thomas added 11 apiece. Calgary won the rebounding battle 39-37, led by Schlueter and Ligertwood with six each as the Dinos took care of the glass by committee.

For seniors Matt Letkeman and Owen-Thomas, it was the best possible way to finish the last game on their home court.

"I'm so thankful and blessed," said Letkeman. "I'm so proud of every single one of these guys – and Mitch Ligertwood played an amazing game. It's an unbelievable feeling to win with these guys."

"This moment means everything," echoed Owen-Thomas. "I've been here for five years now and the amount of practice we've been through and then to final get here in our final year on this court in the Jack Simpson Gym, it means everything. This is why we play for the University of Calgary and the Dinos."

Gerard Gore led the way for Thompson Rivers with 22 points, scoring the night's lone double-double with 10 rebounds as well. Volodymyr Iegorov added 17 and former Dino Josh Wolfram chipped in with 15, while Reese Pribilsky and Luke Morris added 14 and 13, respectively, for the WolfPack, who will make their first appearance at the national championship next week.

The 2016 CIS Men's Basketball Final 8 tips off Thursday at the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Winter Sports Centre on UBC's campus in Vancouver.

-UC-

Photo: David Moll