The University of Regina's men's basketball team returns to the Canada West schedule this weekend against the Trinity Western Spartans at the Centre for Kinesiology, Health & Sport.
It'll be a rare Saturday/Sunday series at the CKHS, with tip-off scheduled for 8 p.m. on Saturday and 4 p.m. on Sunday.
CanadaWest.TV WebcastLive StatsThe Pioneer Division standings are wide open right now, with Lethbridge leading the way at 5-1 but five other teams within a game of the Pronghorns. That group includes the Cougars, who sit in a tie for fifth place in the division with a 5-3 record through their first eight games of the Canada West schedule.
The Cougars are expected to have a new face in the lineup this weekend as
Rawane Ndiaye was officially added to the roster on Wednesday, just in time dress this weekend. Ndiaye, a post who measures in at 6-11 and 280 lbs., graduated from the University of Tennessee in December. He was part of the Volunteers team that advanced to the Sweet Sixteen in the 2014 NCAA Tournament, appearing in 22 of Tennessee's 37 games that year.
Ndiaye also played two seasons the Indian Hills Community College powerhouse in Ottumwa, Iowa before transferring to Tennessee.
He'll join a Cougars team that has been led offensively by
Jonathan Tull, who sits sixth in the conference with an average of 18.3 points per game.
Brandon Tull also averages in double figures with 11.3 points per game, while
Will Tallman ranks among Canada West's best with a 47% clip from three-point range. Tull, Tull, Tallman,
Alex Igual, and
Travis Sylvestre formed the U of R's starting five for each of the last four conference games prior to the December break.
While Lucas Mannes and Kelvin Smith lead Trinity Western (0-8) in scoring with 15.3 and 13.5 points per game respectively, no other Spartans player averages in excess of six. Smith and Mannes are also one-two on TWU in rebounding, while Mannes also has a team-leading 18 assists on the season.
The Cougars have next weekend off before returning to Canada West play Jan. 22 and Jan. 23 on the road at UBC.