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Samuel Hillis
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Men's Basketball

Cougars, Mount Royal to battle in Canada West play-in game

Mount Royal Cougars (8-12) at Regina Cougars (14-6)
Dates Friday, Feb. 8
Time 7:00 PM
Location Centre for Kinesiology, Health & Sport
Tickets [Purchase Online]
Webcast canadawest.tv ($)
Live Stats canadawest.org
Cougars on Social Media Twitter | Facebook | Instagram

ABOUT REGINA
The Cougars just wrapped up one of their best conference seasons ever, finishing the Canada West schedule with an impressive 14-6 record. Their .700 winning percentage is the third best in program history, eclipsed only by the 2005-06 team (16-4 in Canada West) and the 1997-98 squad (11-4 in GPAC).
 
The Cougars' usual starting lineup consists of Benjamin Hillis, Myles Hamilton, Greishe Clerjuste, Samuel Hillis, and Carter Millar. Four of the starting five average in double figures in scoring, including Clerjuste at a team-high 13.3 points per game. Head coach Steve Burrows generally plays a nine-man rotation which also heavily features Nick Barnard, Brayden Kuski, Kameron Vales, and Matt Barnard.
 
ABOUT MOUNT ROYAL
Mount Royal knew that it would be in the postseason heading into last weekend anyway barring a miracle road win by Thompson Rivers over defending national champion Calgary, but the Cougars made sure of it anyway by taking a 99-94 road win over Brandon last Saturday. MRU finished the year with an 8-12 record, with the wins coming in weekend sweeps over Trinity Western and MacEwan and weekend splits with Lethbridge, Manitoba, Brandon, and UBC Okanagan.
 
The Cougars rely heavily on a pair of fifth-year players. Glen Yang leads MRU in scoring (16.7 points per game) and is second in rebounding, while L.J. Hegwood is second in scoring (14.9) and averages a team-high 7.5 rebounds per game. Quinn Taylor and Patrick Vandervelden also start for MRU, while Samuel Willis III and Matthew Guinto either round out the starting five or are the first man off the bench. Three bench players give MRU at least 10 minutes per game, including Nick Tancon who averages 6.8 points and 4.4 rebounds per contest while playing 16 minutes per game. Charn Gill and Wiande Kher also see time in Mount Royal's rotation.
 
COUGARS VS. COUGARS
Mount Royal was one of six Canada West teams that the Cougars didn't play this year. The two teams have never met in the postseason and have only met four times since MRU joined the conference in 2012. They've split those four games, with the Cougars winning two of three played in Regina and Mount Royal winning the lone contest played in Calgary.
   
THE BRACKET
Well, it's not a bracket just yet. After the four play-in games this weekend, the winners will be reseeded and sent off to the quarterfinals against the top four seeds in the conference. The 5/12 game in Regina is the only one where the teams know for sure where they'll play next weekend if they advance - and both teams would be heading into a rivalry matchup in the quarterfinals, as Regina would make the quick trip up to Saskatoon to face No. 4 seed Saskatchewan and Mount Royal would square off against crosstown foe and top-seeded Calgary.
 
Speaking of rivalry matchups, the 8/9 play-in game also pits a pair of crosstown teams against each other as Winnipeg will play host to Manitoba on Thursday night. UFV also hosts UNBC on Thursday in the 6/11 game, while Victoria heads to Lethbridge for the 7/10 game on Friday.
 
Calgary, Alberta, UBC, and Saskatchewan are the conference's top four seeds and will sit out this weekend while preparing to host a best-of-three quarterfinal series.
 
COUGARS IN THE POSTSEASON
The Cougars are in the postseason for the fourth consecutive season and host a playoff game third time in the past four years. The Cougars are also hoping to advance to the Canada West quarterfinals for the third time in the past four seasons, as they won a conference play-in series in 2016 and a conference play-in game just last year to move into the bracket.
 
Regina is 26-9 all-time at home in the playoffs. The Cougars have won 11 of 12 best-of-three series played in Regina and are 2-1 at home in single-game elimination contests, including last year's win over Thompson Rivers.
 
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Players Mentioned

Matt Barnard

#7 Matt Barnard

F
6' 6"
1st
Nick Barnard

#5 Nick Barnard

F
6' 6"
1st
Benjamin Hillis

#8 Benjamin Hillis

G
6' 1"
3rd
Samuel Hillis

#2 Samuel Hillis

G
6' 5"
4th
Brayden Kuski

#4 Brayden Kuski

G
6' 1"
2nd
Carter Millar

#13 Carter Millar

F
6' 4"
2nd
Greishe Clerjuste

#0 Greishe Clerjuste

G
6' 2"
4th
Myles Hamilton

#11 Myles Hamilton

G
6' 1"
4th
Kameron Vales

#3 Kameron Vales

G
6' 0"
3rd

Players Mentioned

Matt Barnard

#7 Matt Barnard

6' 6"
1st
F
Nick Barnard

#5 Nick Barnard

6' 6"
1st
F
Benjamin Hillis

#8 Benjamin Hillis

6' 1"
3rd
G
Samuel Hillis

#2 Samuel Hillis

6' 5"
4th
G
Brayden Kuski

#4 Brayden Kuski

6' 1"
2nd
G
Carter Millar

#13 Carter Millar

6' 4"
2nd
F
Greishe Clerjuste

#0 Greishe Clerjuste

6' 2"
4th
G
Myles Hamilton

#11 Myles Hamilton

6' 1"
4th
G
Kameron Vales

#3 Kameron Vales

6' 0"
3rd
G