ABBOTSFORD – The Cascades and Huskies gave fans a whole lot to cheer about Saturday night.
What started as a defensive struggled, with the Cascades holding onto a slim lead 39-31 lead at the break, became very offensive down the stretch, as the teams traded shot for shot through most of the final quarter.
With Saskatchewan ahead 77-76, Kyle Grewal made a clutch jumper to put Fraser Valley ahead by one with 8.9 seconds remaining. The Cascades’ defence held when it counted most, and the University of the Fraser Valley outscored the University of Saskatchewan 80-77 in Canada West men’s basketball action at Envision Athletic Centre in Abbotsford.
Coupled with its 23-point victory over Alberta Friday, UFV finished with a weekend sweep and improves to 8-6, while Saskatchewan earns a split on its western road trip and falls to 8-6. The Cascades also moved ahead of Victoria and into fourth place in the Canada West Pacific Division.
The teams were tied at 18 after one quarter, and Fraser Valley outscored Saskatchewan 21-13 in the second to take the eight-point halftime lead.
The Huskies battled back, outscoring UFV 29-17 in the third to take a four-point advantage to the final quarter, and setting the stage for the Cascades’ late-game heroics.
Fraser Valley shot 44 per cent in the game, with Saskatchewan shooting 34 percent.
The Cascades had four players hit double digits, with Sam Freeman hitting on four three-pointers to finish the game with 23 points. Joel Friesen was nine of 15 from the field for a 20-point night, with Grewal scoring 13 and Jasper Moedt 11, including two clutch free throws in the final seconds.
“It’s a big win for our program and the playoff hunt we are in,” said Cascades head coach Barnaby Craddock. “Even more important, our team is happy with the improvements we’ve made since early in the year. The guys should be pleased at how hard they played late in this game. It’s a real positive feeling going into some big games down the stretch.”
For Saskatchewan, Showron Glover, the leading scorer in Canada West, had a game-high 27 points. Glover went 14 of 15 from the line. Troy Gottselig scored 22 for the Huskies, who out-rebounded Fraser Valley 43-43. Fraser Valley’s Moedt and Saskatchewan’s Michael Lieffers each had 11 boards.
Saskatchewan is at home to Manitoba next weekend while the Cascades travel to Victoria.
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