The University of Regina's men's basketball team returns home for the first time since mid-November this weekend, as the Cougars host Fraser Valley and Trinity Western at the Centre for Kinesiology, Health & Sport.

The Cougars enter the weekend with a 3-8 Canada West record, but are still in the hunt for a spot in the playoffs. Regina currently sits just 1½ games behind Brandon and Lethbridge, who are currently tied for the fourth and final Prairie Division postseason berth with identical 5-7 records.

Regina is coming off a pair of losses to Manitoba last weekend, as the Cougars dropped 116-87 and 93-84 decisions to the Bisons in Winnipeg despite double-doubles from third-year post Connor Burns in both contests.

This weekend will mark the first home action for a pair of University of Regina newcomers. Third-year guard Antonio Tate, who last suited up for Anoka-Ramsey Community College in Minnesota, has seen action in all four games since the December break including a season-high 18 minutes against Brandon on Jan. 6. Also making his home debut is first-year post Vule Grujic, who comes to the Cougars from Holy Trinity Catholic High School in Kanata, Ont. Grujic had a fine opening weekend with the U of R last weekend at Manitoba, scoring 12 points on Friday night and adding 11 points on Saturday.

Paul Gareau continues to lead the Cougars in both scoring and rebounding, as the fourth-year forward averages 16.9 points and 7.5 rebounds per game. Burns is second in both categories with 10.9 points and 7.1 rebounds per game, while three other Cougars – Sterling Nostedt (10.5 points per game), Brendan Hebert (10.4), and Gradyn Childerhose (10.0) – all average in double figures in scoring.

No. 10-ranked Fraser Valley comes into the weekend with a 7-5 conference record. The Cascades are in third place in the Pacific Division, two games back of second-place UBC and three games back of division leader Victoria. Joel Friesen is the team's leading scorer with 16.2 points per game, with Sam Freeman (14.3 points per game) and Kyle Grewal (13.2) not far behind. Grewal also averages a team-leading 7.4 rebounds per contest, while Jasper Moedt has put up 11.3 points and 6.8 rebounds per game.

Trinity Western started out with a 2-6 conference record, but the Spartans have reeled off four consecutive wins to bring themselves back up to .500 for the season. Kyle Coston, a transfer from Portland State in his second season with TWU, ranks sixth in the conference with an average of 19.8 points per game. Three other Spartans average in double figures in scoring, including Sean Peter (17.9 points per game), Calvin Westbrook (14.6), and Tristan Smith (10.7). Trinity Western travels to Brandon on Friday night for a date with the Bobcats before meeting the Cougars on Saturday night at the CKHS.

Game time is scheduled for 8 p.m. on both Friday and Saturday at the CKHS following the conclusion of the women's games. Both games will be webcast live on www.canadawest.tv.

NOTES: Regina holds a 4-2 all-time advantage over Fraser Valley ... The Cougars have a 9-7 advantage over Trinity Western in the 16 conference games between the two teams, but the Spartans have won four straight over the Cougars.