The University of Regina Cougars defeated the University of the Fraser Valley Cascades, 92-89, in one of the most exciting games of the 2010-11 Canada West regular season at the Envision Athletic Centre. The Cascades regular season record falls to 6-11, as they hold onto the 8th and final playoff position in the standings.
The Cougars came out strong to start the game building up a quick double digit lead in the first quarter and leading by 12 points going into the second quarter, where the Cascades defense held Regina to 11 points as they outscored them 24-11 to go into the intermission up by one point. Sam Freeman, Coquitlam, BC led the Cascades at the break with 13 points.
In the second half, the Cougars again pulled ahead by outscoring UFV by 8 points and led by as many as 9 points midway through the fourth quarter before UFV went on a tear tying the game at the buzzer on a pair of free throws by Zeon Gray, Los Angeles, CA.
The first overtime was a nail bitter with both teams having great opportunities to close out the game. Regina again pulled ahead but and led by 3 points with no time left as Freeman hit a three point shot to force a second overtime period. The second overtime saw the lead change hands four times before the Cougars Jared Janotta, Regina, SK hit several key free throws to give the Cougars their 11th Canada West victory of the season. Janotta’s 8 points all came from the foul line.
“Credit Regina for coming out from the opening tip, performing well as a team and dictating the flow of the game. We were playing catch up all night, and we have to learn that you need to play 40 minutes of focused basketball if you want to win games in this league,” said UFV Head Coach Barnaby Craddock.
Freeman led the Cascades with a game high 29 point performance. Gray added 18 points and Joel Friesen, Abbotsford, BC chipped in with 15 points. Gray led the Cascades with 10 total rebounds as they pulled down 41 for the game. The top scorer for Regina was Paul Gareau, Regina, SK with 26 points.
Regina 28 11 19 10 11 13 = 92 (11-6)
UFV 16 24 11 17 11 10 = 89 (6-11)
Top Scorers:
Regina: Gareau 26 points/ UFV: Freeman 29 points
Team Rebounds:
Regina: 11+42=53/ UFV: 11+30=41
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