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The University of Regina Cougars took out the previously unbeaten and No. 1-ranked UBC Thunderbirds by a score of 76-73 in an epic Canada West men's basketball game on Saturday night at the Centre for Kinesiology, Health & Sport.

The Cougars and the Thunderbirds battled back and forth down the stretch in a game that featured eight lead changes during the fourth quarter. Neither team lead by more than three points in the final session until Regina fourth-year guard Paul Schubach nailed a three-pointer with 1:27 left that made it a two-possession game.

UBC's Josh Whyte drove the lane for a bucket to draw the score to 75-73, but that was as close as the Thunderbirds were able to come. Jamal Williams hit a free throw to extend Regina's lead to three, and Chris Dyck's heavily contested three-pointer with four seconds remaining on the clock clanged off the back iron, giving the Cougars the win.

“Tonight we bought into the idea of playing hard on the defensive end,” Cougars head coach James Hillis said. “We got the stops when we needed them the most.”

It was a true team effort for the U of R, as several Cougars stepped up on both sides of the ball. UBC led by as many as 11 points in the first quarter, but three huge Kris Heshka blocks in the span of three minutes midway through the second helped spur a comeback for the hometown Cougars.

“I was lucky enough to not have any first quarter fouls, so I was able to be a little more aggressive defensively in the second,” said Heshka, who scored a team-high 21 points and had five rebounds before fouling out late in the fourth quarter. “It sounds kind of cliché, but any team can put it together on any given night in this conference and tonight we were that team.”

Whyte ended up with a game-high 29 points for the Thunderbirds and also led all players with six steals. He was hot all night for the visitors, shooting 10-for-15 from the field and 7-for-8 from the free throw line. Dyck had 16 points for UBC and was a perfect 8-for-8 from the stripe.

Williams secured the game's lone double-double for Regina, scoring 15 points and collecting 12 rebounds. Jordan McFarlen hit a couple of huge off-balance left-handed floaters to keep the Cougars to within three points midway through the second quarter, and ended up with nine points and six rebounds. Schubach had 11 points and six rebounds and hit three of his four three-point attempts, none bigger than his dagger with just over 90 seconds remaining in the contest.

Marek Downarowicz came off the bench to hit some huge shots for the Cougars. He was 3-for-3 from the field and hit a three-pointer to record seven points in 14 minutes on the floor. Downarowicz was on the floor when the Cougars secured the victory, as he was inserted in place of Heshka after he fouled out of the contest.

The Cougars improve to 3-3 on the season and move into sole possession of first place in the Great Plains Division, as Brandon (2-4) and Manitoba (3-5) both lost on Saturday.

UBC's record drops to 7-1. The Thunderbirds are one game ahead of both Victoria and Fraser Valley in the Pacific Division.

NOTES: Saturday's win snaps a nine-game losing streak for Regina against the Thunderbirds … the last time the Cougars defeated UBC was on Jan. 15, 2000 by a 105-91 margin.