Box Score

The University of Saskatchewan rode a barrage of first-half triples to a 90-78 win over the Regina Cougars on Friday night in a Canada West men's basketball game at the Centre for Kinesiology, Health & Sport.

For the first quarter and a little bit of the second, the No. 5-ranked Huskies couldn't miss. At one point, the visitors hit six consecutive three-pointers without a miss as they opened up a lead that reached as much as 23 points in the second quarter.

The Cougars scored the final six points of the half to cut Saskatchewan's lead to 14 at the break, but weren't ever able to put together a serious rally down the stretch. They got to within 11 after a Jeremy Zver free throw with two and a half minutes left, but that was as close as they would get as the Huskies coasted to their fifth Canada West win in as many conference games this season.

Stephon Lamar ended up with a game-high 25 points, doing most of his damage from the free throw line where he went 13-for-16. Lamar also filled the stat sheet with six rebounds, six assists, and five steals, while Dadrian Collins hit four triples in the game's opening 12 minutes and ended up with 20 points and eight rebounds. Ben Baker added a double-double for the Huskies with 15 points and 11 rebounds.

Making his first career start for the Cougars, Zver (pictured) was 6-for-6 from the field and had a team-high 15 points. Brendan Hebert added 11 points and eight assists for the U of R, while both Kade Marra and Travis Sylvestre came off the bench to contribute 10 points. Marra also led the Cougars with seven rebounds, six of which came on the defensive glass.

Saskatchewan, which ended up 12-for-33 as a team from three-point range, remains tied with Alberta for first place in Canada West's Prairie Division.

The two teams will play again on Saturday night following the conclusion of the women's game (7:00, canadawest.tv).

NOTES: Matthew Augustine also made his first career start for the U of R as head coach Steve Burrows changed up the starting lineup with starting post Wesley Jones unavailable ... the Cougars drop to 1-4 on the season and are now in a three-way tie with Calgary and Manitoba for fifth in the Prairie Division.