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Calgary 83, Victoria 74  Trailing 43-32 at the half, and by as many as 15 in the 2nd, the Calgary Dinos dug in and counted 51 second half points, and stunned the home-standing Victoria Vikes by an 83-74 final on Saturday, earning a split in the weekend series. With nothing happening offensively in the 1st half, Calgary upped their work rate on the defensive end, with post man Youri Anissovets injecting some aggressive play, along with Andy Rochon, and 1st year post man, Matt Letkeman.

After having been thrashed on the boards by the Vikes on Friday, Calgary battled it out for a 42-29 edge in rebounding in game 2, led by 13 from an energized Tyler Fidler, who also blocked 3 shots, and scored 20 points, most in the 2nd half. Andrew McGuinness was in double figures again Saturday with 15 points, Phil Labongo, 1st year wing man, Winnipeg, scored 12, with some tough drives into the paint, and Dustin Reding notched 11.

The Dinos shot 51% on the night, with more scores in close in the 4th quarter, by Fidler, off the offensive glass, and Letkeman on short jumpers. Calgary was 25/33 (76%) at the line, with Fidler being 7/7, McGuinness, 7/8, and Labongo 6/8. Victoria shot 39% from the floor, including 8/22 from 3 point range, with most of those in the 1st half. At the free throw line the Vikes were 14/21 for 67%.

Victoria’s high scorer was Ryan McKinnon, with 16 points, but the reeling Vikes could manage only 10 in the 4th quarter, as Calgary would not be denied in the last 4 minutes. Both teams are 1-1 to start the Canada West season. Next weekend sees Calgary at home vs. the Lethbridge Pronghorns, while Victoria travels to Saskatchewan to play the Huskies.

Spartans and Bobcats Complete Sweeps in Saturday Action

Saskatchewan 97 at UBC 96 ... starting and finishing strong, the Huskies snatched a split with the ‘Birds behind 34 points from their import guard Jamelle Barrett, and 10/22 treys compared to 6/24 for UBC. Josh Whyte scored 23, and Brent Malish 18 for the T-Birds.

Trinity Western 98 at Lethbridge 82 ... the Spartans earned the sweep, with 31 points and 8 assists from Tristan Smith, a transfer guard from Fraser Valley. Tyrell Mara added 22 points, and was the game’s leading rebounder with 11. Zack Humphrey had 21 for U of L.

at Brandon 88 Thompson Rivers 80... the Bobcats, completing the sweep, scored 52 second half points, and 9/19 from 3 point range, led by Kyle Vince with 23, and O’Brien Wallace with 19. Kevin Pribilsky had 18, and Chas Kok 17 for the 0-2 Wolfpack.

Notes ... Trinity plays UBC next week (in Langley.) Dave Wells, our Southern Alberta observer, suggests it is ‘an unfortunate schedule, in that Sask-UBC and Trinity-UBC will be done for the season before Halloween!” Wellsie was impressed particularly with Tristan Smith for Trinity who can be ‘very tough if Smith can take care of the ball at the point.”

For a court dedicated to the excellence of UVic’s and the CIS’ finest coaches, Kathy and Ken Shields, the McKinnon Gym complex is one of the least comfortable facilities in Canada West. The days of bleacher seating really must be gone, and the sight lines are dreadful, with a 10 meter set-back for ‘front row’ bleacher seats. How about a little stewardship for an historically important facility ?

In attendance on Friday was former Alberta Coach Don Horwood, who is happy in retirement, and wanted to be remembered to his many supporters in Calgary, as he and his wife Jill returned to the Island, where Don was such a successful high school coach at Oak Bay.

Also seen in the stands in Victoria ... Ken Shields, who had just returned from meetings, speaking, and basketball clinic duties in Ottawa and Winnipeg ... Clyde Ogilvie, who played with Ken and this writer on Dinos teams in the ‘60s (old) ... man family members and friends of the B.C. players on the Dinos roster - Matt Letkeman, Josh Wolfram, Andrew McGuinness, and Keenan Milburn ... Former Dinos post man from the ‘80s-‘90s, Mark Loria, along with his son Finn ... loyal followers Sandy Debolt, Peter Mack, and, of course, Adam Kleitsch, who, with his new hirsute look, fit in rather nicely with the denizens of the Island .

Ross Bekkering’s Leiden squad beat Robbie Sihota’s Rotterdam team, 82-60 in Dutch League play on saturday. Sihota had 18 points and 8 boards in a losing cause as Rotterdam fell to 0-6. Ross had 13 points and 8 rebounds for the 2nd place, 4-1 Leiden.

Not exactly physical abuse ... on Friday night, Coach Dan Vanhooren secures a copy of the 3rd quarter stats summary, and, seeing the rebound totals, he tosses the stats sheet at his charges. Take that! Hardly the ‘kick the ball-rack’ technique of years long past from the fiery John Dewar ... much easier to retrieve the paper. More smiles Saturday, as the Dinos show a lot of grit in clawing back for a big win on the road, when they looked like they were going under for the 2nd night in a row.