Box Score

The University of Regina's men's basketball team pulled out a 76-75 upset victory over the No. 4-ranked Alberta Golden Bears on Saturday night at the Centre for Kinesiology, Health & Sport.

The Cougars broke a late tie with a free throw by Paul Gareau with 43 seconds left, and got the ball right back after Alberta's Kenneth Otieno was called for travelling on the ensuing possession. The Cougars ran the shot clock all the way down before attempting a shot that was blocked, giving the ball to the Golden Bears with four seconds left.

Alberta had a chance to win it at the buzzer after inbounding from half court, but Youssef Ouahrig's three-pointer hit iron.

“The difference tonight is that we were able to take care of the ball,” Cougars head coach James Hillis said. “So many games recently we've lost the battle of possession and don't have the ball enough to keep ourselves in the game, and tonight was the first time in a while that we've had more shot attempts than the other team.”

Gareau was 8-for-8 from the field and had a team-high 23 points for the Cougars for the win, setting a University of Regina record for most field goals made in a Canada West game without missing a shot. Connor Burns had 14 points and added nine rebounds to fall one board shy of a double-double for the fifth time this season.

Darius Mole was 4-for-8 from three-point range, with three of his triples coming late in the contest. Brendan Hebert scored 11 points and scored 12 assists, joining Dale Holmes and Paul Schubach as the only U of R players ever to dish out at least 12 in a single game.

Kenneth Otieno came off the bench to lead Alberta with 26 points in 28 minutes on the floor, while Adam Weir added 16 points and Tommy Watson was a perfect 4-for-4 from three-point range and scored 12. Sahr Saffa pulled down nine rebounds to lead a Golden Bears team that had a big 42-27 advantage on the glass.

Alberta falls to 13-3 in the win, while the Cougars' slim playoff chances stay alive as their conference record improves to 6-10 on the season. The Cougars play Calgary on the road next weekend, while the Golden Bears will prepare to host Manitoba.

NOTES: The two teams were never separated by more than seven points, as Alberta's seven-point advantage early in the fourth quarter was the largest for either team.