MBB: Golden Bears continue perfect season, bounce Huskies in semifinal action

EDMONTON - The Alberta Golden Bears will play in the Canada West championship game after a 90-74 victory over the Saskatchewan Huskies at the Saville Centre Friday evening.

The victory moves the Bears to a cumulative record of 18-0, keeping their undefeated record alive. The Huskies move to 13-6 in what has been the most successful season for the program since the 2015-16 season.

It is the second consecutive CW title game for the Bears program, as they dropped the pre-pandemic 2019-20 title game to the UBC Thunderbirds. They are searching for their 13th Canada West title, and 14th conference title overall.

The Huskies will play in the 6PM MST bronze medal game tomorrow versus the loser of the Victoria Vikes and Regina Cougars semifinal match. They could still clinch a berth in the U SPORTS national championships with a win.

It was third-year Golden Bear Adam Paige's night; he recorded a game-high 28 points on a staggering 73.3% field goal percentage, of which he was 66.7% good from beyond the arc. He knocked in five threes to go along with six rebounds and two steals in a complete performance.

CW first-team all-star Marquavian Stephens was the star for the visiting Huskies side, recording 20 points off of a .500/.429/.500 shooting line.

The Bears started on absolute fire from beyond the arc, with four of their first seven makes from three. Paige had two three pointers in the first three minutes, on the way to his quarter-high 10 points. An Alberta 13-0 run quickly evaporated as the Huskies tightened up their defence, going on a 6-0 run of their own at the end of the quarter to enter the second down 20-16. Near sixty percent of the field goal attempts in the quarter were of the three point variety as both squads tested their long-range ability. Fourth-year Huskies guard Nervens Demosthene was a revelation for the visitors in the frame, recording a three to go along with four assists and two steals.

The Huskies came out of the break firing, with Alexander Dewar recording a quick two layups to knot the game at 22. However, Saskatchewan's offensive well would dry up from there, missing three straight field goals and turning the ball over twice to give Alberta a 39-27 lead near the midway mark of the quarter. Paige was excellent again with a quarter-high seven points and four rebounds during this stretch. While the Huskies threatened to get back into a tight contest, they struggled from the free throw line missing five of their six attempts in the frame. The story at halftime would be points off of turnovers, which the Bears have excelled at all year, with Alberta recording 17 points off of Huskies turnovers compared to just six in the inverse.

The third quarter was the most exciting of the night, as both squads were on fire shooting the basketball. Saskatchewan nearly doubled their made field goals from the entire first half in a quarter that they outscored Alberta 27-24. Tyrese Potoma was the focal point for the Huskies recording a quarter-high 10 points. They entered the fourth down by just seven points.

The Bears seemed to hit another gear in the final quarter. They turned a seven point advantage into a sixteen point advantage in the frame, owing to the phenomenal play of 2022 CW Player of the Year Tyus Jefferson. He recorded four points, a steal, and was a major catalyst for the winning run from the Central division winners.

The Bears are back to work in the CW final tomorrow evening at 8PM MST, facing the winner of the other semifinal matchup while the Huskies play in the earlier bronze medal match at 6PM.

You can catch the game on canadawest.tv or on their website.