The University of Regina's men's basketball team fell to 10-8 on the season after a 95-79 loss to Calgary on Friday night at the Jack Simpson Gym on the University of Calgary campus.
 
The Cougars drop to fifth place in the tightly packed Pioneer Division standings, as they're now a half game behind fourth-place Lethbridge (10-7) and a half game ahead of sixth-place Winnipeg (9-8) – and those two teams play each other again on Saturday night in Winnipeg, with Lethbridge looking to complete a weekend sweep.
 
Friday's game saw the Cougars burst out of the gate to take a 28-19 lead after one quarter as Alex Igual sparked the visitors early, but Calgary immediately responded with a 7-0 run and took the lead for good with 13 consecutive points over the last two minutes of the second quarter and the first two minutes of the third.
 
The Cougars got Calgary's lead from double digits down to five points near the midway mark of the third quarter, but that was as close as they'd come. The Dinos (16-3) went on a 14-2 run to go up 18 points late in the third and never looked back, leading by as many as 23 in the fourth quarter before eventually settling for a 16-point margin of victory.
 
Thomas Cooper was again outstanding for Calgary, going 13-for-19 from the field and finishing with a game-high 30 points on the heels of his 42-point effort on Friday. Four other Dinos hit double figures in scoring, including Jasdeep Gill (13 points), Lars Schlueter (11), David Kapinga (10), and Matt Letkeman (10).
 
Igual led the Cougars with 19 points.
 
The Cougars will watch Saturday's out-of-town scoreboard with interest, and the Lethbridge/Winnipeg game certainly isn't the only relevant one. An Alberta win over Saskatchewan would clinch a postseason berth for Regina – but would also pull the Golden Bears (9-9) just a few percentage points back of the Cougars in the Pioneer Division standings.
 
Regina will close out the conference schedule next weekend at home against Saskatchewan, which will go into Saturday's game against Alberta with a 7-10 record.