The University of Regina's men's basketball team trailed by one at halftime, but absolutely exploded in the third quarter as the Cougars ended up with an 87-70 road win over Fraser Valley on Friday night in Abbotsford, B.C.
The Cougars got triples from four different players during a 25-3 run in the third quarter, turning what had been a two-point deficit into a 20-point advantage late in the period.
Fraser Valley trimmed the lead down to 14 early in the fourth but Regina head coach
Steve Burrows called a quick timeout and the Cougars responded with buckets on their next four possessions to go up by 24, their largest lead of the game.
Benjamin Hillis scored a career-high 23 points for the Cougars and also pulled down eight rebounds.
Brayden Kuski came off the bench to score 18 points while
Greishe Clerjuste added 14,
Shaquille Harris had 11, and
Samuel Hillis had 10 while also falling just one rebound short of a double-double.
Parm Bains led Fraser Valley (12-7) with 17 points.
The Cougars (10-9) can assure themselves of a home play-in game next weekend with another win over Fraser Valley in the rematch on Saturday night (7:00 PM PT/9:00 PM SK).
NOTES: The Cougars could still host a play-in game even with a loss to UFV on Saturday, but would need some help on the out-of-town scoreboard in the form of a UBC win over Winnipeg and a Thompson Rivers road win at Lethbridge.
