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Alberta 85, Brandon 79; Bears advance to CIS Nationals and Canada West Championship game BOX SCORE 6'2" Canada West MVP Alex Steele put the Bears on his back with 16 second half points as Alberta advanced to the CIS Nationals with a come-from-behind victory over the Bobcats. With Alberta up 41-39, Brandon's 6'5" Adam Hartman hit back-to-back 3's early in the third quarter to give the Cats a four point lead which Brandon maintained through the end of the third quarter. But Steele, who added 10 rebounds and 6 assists in a near-triple-double performance, began to heat up and 6'3" Justin Vanloo (14 points) and 6'1" point guard C.G. Morrison (15 points) also had big second halves as the Bears outscored Brandon by 11 in the final quarter. 6'9" Yuri Whyms was a monster inside and on the offensive glass for Brandon, leading all scorers with 27 points and added 15 rebounds including 7 on the offensive glass while Hartman added 24 points. 6'3" Dany Charlery added 11 but only 2 after halftime while 6'1" Yul Michel had 9 for Brandon, who awaits the loser of the second game of the Canada West semi-final between UBC and Calgary. Brandon needs to win that third place game to maintain hope for a CIS Nationals. 6'9" Richard Bates kept Alberta in the game in the first half with 12 points for Alberta.

Game Report from Calgary Sports Information GOLDEN BEARS HEADED TO OTTAWA AFTER UPSETTING BOBCATS; By Jack Neumann, UC Sports Info. CALGARY - Alex Steele scored 21 points as the University of Alberta Golden Bears upset the number three ranked Brandon University Bobcats 85-79 in Canada West semi-final men’s basketball action in Calgary. With the win Alberta advances to the Canada West Final tomorrow evening against either the University of Calgary or University of British Columbia and also have secured a spot at the CIS national tournament in Ottawa next month. The Bears entered the four team tournament as the Wild Card team while the Bobcats were Great Plains Conference champions and were CIS national finalists last year. Steele, the Canada West Player of the Year also had 10 rebounds and six assists as the Bears overcame an 11 point deficit in the third quarter. Steele was 7-for19 from outside and added another eight points from the free-throw line. The win for Alberta marked the third time that Bears have beaten Brandon. Alberta led 20-13 after ten minutes thanks to strong inside play from Richard Bates who came off the bench and made several key baskets. The Bobcats slowly clawed their way back into the contest and tied the game at 37-37 at the half thanks to strong outside shooting and taking advantage of several Alberta turnovers. Steele had a chance to put the Bears in front in final second but his desperation shot at the buzzer was well off the mark. Brandon outscored Alberta 24-19 in the third quarter as the Bears were plagued by foul trouble and the Bobcats hit their free throw attempts and led 63-61 with ten minutes remaining. The lead changed hands several times with no team being able to take control. Steele and C.G. Morrison then proceeded to take control with key treys and Alberta went ahead 77-71 with 2:43 remaining in the contest. The Bobcats cut the margin to 77-74 with just over 90 seconds left but Harvey Bradford’s basket with 76 left staked the Bears to a 79-74 lead that Brandon could not penetrate. Yuri Whyms led the Bobcats with 27 points while Adam Hartman chipped in with 24. Morrison added 15 points for Alberta and Justin VanLoo chipped with 14 off the bench, many of them at critical times in the second for the Bears. Alberta shot 44% in the contest while Brandon shot 40%, however, Alberta hauled down 43 rebounds as compared to 34 for Alberta.

-UC-