The University of Regina's men's basketball team dug deep and came up with a gutsy 67-64 win over Winnipeg on Saturday night at the Centre for Kinesiology, Health & Sport to force a deciding game in the best-of-three Canada West play-in series.
The Cougars trailed by one at the half, but it looked like they had let the game get away from them as Winnipeg bolted out of halftime on a 15-2 run to go up 49-34, their biggest lead of the game.
But just as Winnipeg did to Regina yesterday, the Cougars completely erased the huge second-half deficit. They scored the next 10 points to get back to within five, and another 10-0 run midway through the fourth quarter gave the U of R a lead they would never relinquish.
It certainly wasn't easy down the stretch, though. Winnipeg got a three-point play from Denzel Lynch-Blair and a bucket from Ryan Oirbans to get back to within one point at 64-63 with 46 seconds left, but Regina's
Will Tallman drilled a huge corner three to make it a two-possession game. Winnipeg got a free throw on the ensuing possession and had an opportunity to tie the game at the buzzer after grabbing an offensive rebound following a missed second freebie, but Jelane Pryce's attempt from three rimmed out to seal the win for the Cougars.
"I've said all year that I love the character of this team and they showed that character tonight," Cougars head coach
Steve Burrows said. "They easily could have given in to the situation, but we rose to the challenge, kept fighting, and gave ourselves a chance."
The final triple by Tallman – his third of the night – gave him a game-high 19 points to go along with nine rebounds as he falls just short of registering his second double-double of the series.
Jonathan Tull had 18 points and eight rebounds for the Cougars, while
Alex Igual added 15 points, seven rebounds, and four assists in the victory.
Oirbans led Winnipeg with 18 points, 10 rebounds, and five assists. William Sesay added 12 for the Wesmen before fouling out in the game's final minute.
The two teams will decide the series on Sunday night at the CKHS. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.
NOTES: Winnipeg held a 60-42 rebounding advantage in Game 2 ... 24 of Winnipeg's 60 rebounds came on the offensive glass.
