The University of Regina's men's basketball team defeated the University of Winnipeg Wesmen 81-56 on Saturday evening in Winnipeg.
 
The Cougars combo of Carter Millar and Brayden Kuski each scored a game-high 22 points to help the team clinch first place in Canada West's East Division. The Cougars clinch a top-four seed in the conference, meaning they will have a double bye in the upcoming Canada West postseason tournament.
 
The first half was a low-scoring affair, with both teams having trouble shooting the ball. The Cougars shot 5-of-21 from the field as a team and the Wesmen shot 4-of-19 as a team. The Wesmen, however, hit four threes compared to the Cougars single three and that resulted in Winnipeg leading 15-11 after the first quarter.
 
The Cougars offence came to life in the second quarter, hitting nine of 15 shots en route to 24 points. Kuski hit two triples and accounted for 10 points in the frame. The Cougars played solid defence on the Wesmen, including a block by forward Matt Barnard to hold them to seven points. The dominant quarter gave the Cougars a 35-22 lead going into the break.  
 
The U of R offence continued to pour in points in the third quarter, hitting nine shots and scoring 28 points as a team. They held Winnipeg to 16 points and extended their lead to 63-38 going into the fourth quarter. Carter Millar scored 13 points and made two and-one plays in the quarter.
 
The final quarter didn't see Winnipeg make a comeback or the Cougars extend their lead as both teams scored 18 points. Regina rode their big second and third quarters to split the weekend series against the Wesmen.
 
Millar also pulled down a game-high 14 rebounds for a double-double. The Cougars also got contributions from Benjamin Hillis (14 points, seven rebounds, eight assists) and Matt Barnard (seven points, nine rebounds, one block).
 
Don Dayrit was once again the leading scorer for the Wesmen, getting 16 points. Shawn Maranan was the only other scorer with double digits, as he got 11 points. Spas Nikolov scored five points and grabbed a team-high nine rebounds for Winnipeg in the loss.
 
The Cougars (12-4) are done their Canada West regular season schedule and will start preparing for the playoff tournament that starts on Mar. 4. The Wesmen (7-7) have one more series left, and will travel to Saskatoon next weekend to take on the Huskies.

 

Carter Millar bullies his way in and draws the and-one!

And yes, he hits the free throw for the three-point play! pic.twitter.com/IQyD2Q66ac

— U of R Cougars MBB (@cougsmbb) February 13, 2022