EDMONTON - The Saskatchewan Huskies captured the Canada West bronze medal to go with a berth in the U SPORTS Final 8 with their 97-93 OT victory over provincial rivals the Regina Cougars Saturday evening at the Saville Centre.
This is the best CW finish for the Huskies since 2015, where they also clinched a berth in the Final Eight.
It was the game of the year for both squads who left everything they had on the Saville main court. The Cougs led for 93% of the game, but thanks to some heroics from Huskies CW second-team all-star Marquavian Stephens and Co. Saskatchewan came alive at just the right time.
To Stephens, fighting when down is baked into the squad's DNA.
"The thing about us is we just never give up. We have had our ups and downs, like this game shows, but we kept fighting and things went our way."
Stephens had 29 points including a three as time expired to send the game into overtime. He was flanked by Alexander Dewar who had 17 of his own.
Regina was led by third-team all-star Carter Millar who had a game-high 30 points on a line that included five threes.
On hitting the huge three to send the game into overtime, Stephens was quick to defer praise to his teammates.
"It's just all my teammates and my coaches. They kept me going, and that was one thing that kept me positive in my mind and that led up to [the three]."
Both teams were impressive shooting the basketball, the Huskies edging the Cougs just slightly with a 45.1 shooting percentage from the field. They also both hit over 80% of their free throw attempts on over 20 attempts.
The Cougars were able to exorcize some of their shooting demons from last night's semifinal in the first quarter, with the team hitting four threes to go along with a 53.8 overall field goal percentage en route to a 24-15 lead. While the scoring came from all angles of the Regina lineup, Millar had a particularly impressive quarter recording eight points from two threes and a couple free-throws. Saskatchewan's Tyrese Potoma was able to continue his hot play, the leader for the Huskies with five points in the frame.
The second quarter was tightly contested from both squads. Regina looked to be running away with the game with a 30-15 lead early in the quarter, but Dewar, the Huskies second leading scorer in the regular season, popped off to the tune of eight points on some impressive drives to the hoop. He was flanked by Emmanuel Akintunde who added three points, two rebounds, an assist and a steal in the frame as the Huskies went on a 9-0 run to get back into the game.
The Cougs were paced by another great frame from Millar and fourth-year Brayden Kuski who went a perfect 3/3 from beyond the arc. Regina would lead into the locker room 43-34.
Regina came out of the break blazing with a couple three's and some suffocating defence. However, as they showed all game, the Huskies would recollect and mount a run of their own with Dewar and fourth-year guard Chan De Ciman leading a charge to get the game to within four with two minutes remaining in the quarter. The Cougs would enter the fourth with a 64-58 lead.
The game thus far promised a tight ending and the fourth quarter delivered. Both teams picked up the pace as the transition game became more utilized. Potoma and Stephens were the engines for the Huskies. Josiah Thomas was the leader for the Cougs, as the squad kept up with every Huskies scoring outburst. The game reached a climax when Millar headed to the line up 79-76 and promptly sunk both free throws to seemingly put the game out of reach. After a De Ciman jumper and steal, the Huskies had possession down three with seven seconds to go.
Enter Stephens - the second-team all-star confidently drove the ball up court and hit an incredible fadeaway three to tie the game with a second remaining. We would need overtime to determine the CW bronze medallist.
The overtime period was some of the most exciting basketball the teams have played all year. They traded baskets back and forth, mostly coming from the charity stripe as both teams were in the bonus. Stephens hit five free throws in the frame including the final two to put the Huskies up 97-93 a lead they would not relinquish.
The Huskies journey will continue when they travel back to Edmonton for the U SPORTS Final Eight which tips off on Friday, April 1st. Stephens says to be successful the team will need to stay positive like they did in tonight's classic.
"National's…that's a big stage. We got a lot of hard work ahead of us but really we just have to keep staying positive. We are gonna have our downs in the playoffs, but this team can really go far."
