CIS Hoops.ca

UBC 70, UVic 67 T-Birds lead Best-of-3 Pacific Division championship 1-0 In a game of runs, UBC took control in the fourth quarter and survived a pair of looks at a game-tying three to take game one in Vancouver. 6'3" Chris Dyck had 9 of his 11 points after the intermission after battling foul trouble while 6'7" Matt Rachar had 13 as the T-Birds came back from a 7 point early fourth-quarter deficit. But many point to another solid game from 6'0" sophomore guard Alex Murphy, who had 11 points, but defended well and did all the little things as the difference in the game. UVic trailed by 12 at halftime but then dominated the third quarter, shooting over 70% while holding UBC to only 7 third-quarter points. The normally prolific T-Birds went only 1-9 from downtown for the entire game but Vic hurt themselves at the foul line where they went only 9 for 17 (53%). 6'6" Tyler Hass had a game-high 19 points and 6 rebounds for Vic, which rode the coattails of Hass, 6'7" Mitch Gudgeon, 6'4" freshman Ryan MacKinnon and 6'1" Brandon Dunlop (all played 32 or more minutes) in the game while the T-Birds minutes were much more spread out. Game Two goes tonight. Ron Rauch's article in the Victoria Times-Colonist on last night's Vic loss at UBC Vikes off to rocky start Dan Stinson's piece in this morning's Vancouver Sun Murphy's law the difference in UBC's win

The Scrum has their predictions for Canada West this weekend; (my bad for taking so long to post)

Cougars hold off Bobcats from Jeremy Sawatsky Cougars Upend Bobcats In Game One
Written by: Jeremy Sawatzky, BU Sports Information
Fri, Feb 22, 2008

BRANDON, MB – The Brandon Bobcats dug themselves a hole so deep Friday
night, not even one of the most exhilarating comebacks in school
history could get them out of it.

The 'Cats battled back from a 29-point second half deficit before Paul
Gareau hit a shot with 10.4 seconds remaining to give the Regina
Cougars a stunning 87-85 win in game one of the Great Plains
divisional final at the BU Gym.

"We showed a lot of heart to come back," said Brandon coach Mike
Raimbault, whose team lost at home for the first time since last
year's Canada West championship game. "I don't think it was a matter
of us not playing well. I liked our intensity in the first quarter… we
just hit a dry spell in the second, and they were hitting easy
buckets, and it was just too much to overcome."

The Bobcats led 18-13 in the first quarter before the Cougars exploded
on an 18-0 run to take a sizable lead. Regina outscored the Bobcats
30-7 in the second quarter and led by 22 at the half. They stretched
the lead to as many as 29 in the third quarter, before BU finally came
to life in the fourth period.

"We couldn't hit a shot when we got good looks," noted Raimbault. "I
thought their zone was effective at times, but we had good
opportunities to score and they just didn't fall."

Nathan Grant's three-point play with 33 seconds left tied the game at
85, however Gareau's second-chance basket on the ensuing trip down the
floor proved to be the difference. The Bobcats had a bevy of chances
to tie it on their final possession, missing three shots from inside
15 feet.

"We just let them back into the game and that's why they're number two
in the country," said Regina coach James Hillis, whose team snapped a
10-game losing streak against the 'Cats. "That wouldn't have been the
first time they'd won a game like that. They're good, they have guys
that can hit big shots… I'm just happy that Paul was able to stick one
at the end."

Gareau finished with a game-high 31 points on 15-19 shooting from the
field, while Jamal Williams added 15 points for the Cougars. Bryden
Wright notched 14 points and Paul Schubach finished with 11.

Yul Michel led all Brandon scorers with 21 points and Yuri Whyms and
Dany Charlery added 16 apiece. However, Charlery's points came on his
worst shooting performance of the season, as the Bobcat guard went
6-25 from the field and 1-11 from three-point range.

The two clubs will meet again Saturday night, with the Bobcats needing
a win – barring a wild-card berth into next weekend's Final Four – to
keep their season alive.

"That's the beauty of it," added Raimbault. "We get an opportunity to
come out tomorrow night and try and redeem ourselves."