The University of Regina's men's basketball team lost to the Saskatchewan Huskies 97-93 in overtime in the Canada West bronze medal game on Saturday night.
 
The Cougars led by three late in the fourth when Huskies guard Marquavian Stephens hit a clutch three-pointer as time expired to force overtime. The Huskies took the game in the overtime period to not only win the bronze medal, but a berth in the U SPORTS Final 8 in Edmonton.
 
Both teams were cold to start the game, combining for seven total points in the first four minutes. The two teams started to pick it up after that, trading baskets until it was 9-8 for the Cougars with 4:06 left in the first. Regina kept it going, ending the quarter on a 15-7 run to lead 24-15 after 10 minutes.
 
The Cougars started the second quarter on a 6-0 run, capped off by a Brayden Kuski three, to lead 30-15 after the first two minutes. The Huskies responded quickly with a 9-0 run to keep the game close. Saskatchewan guard Alexander Dewar hit a shot from behind the arc with five seconds left to the cut the Cougars lead to 43-35 going into halftime.
 
The Huskies continued to chip away at the Cougars lead in the third quarter, putting up 24 points in the frame while holding Regina to 21. Huskies guard Tyrese Potoma hit a three at the 4:46 mark of the quarter to make it 51-46 for the Cougars. Carter Millar responded on the next possession by hitting a three of his own to push the Cougars lead back to eight points. 15 seconds later, Huskies player Chan De Ciman hit a three to put it back to a five-point Cougars lead. Benjamin Hillis splashed a three for the Cougars just 13 seconds later to make it four made threes in the span of 45 seconds between the two teams. The Huskies closed the quarter on a 9-7 run to make it 64-58 for the Cougars heading into the final quarter.
 
The Cougars maintained a five-point cushion for most of the fourth quarter, responding every time the Huskies got close. The final minute was when things started to change. Stephens made a layup with 1:05 left in the game to make it 77-73 for Regina. Fifth-year guard Josiah Thomas hit two free throws to push the Cougars lead back up to six points. Nervens Demosthene was fouled on a three-point attempt to get three free throws at the 43 second mark. Demosthene proceeded to hit all of them to make it 79-76 for the Cougars. Millar hit two free throws on the next possession to push the lead back up to five points for Regina. With 14 seconds left, De Ciman hit a layup to make it a three-point game once more. The Huskies forced a clutch steal and got possession back with 10 seconds left in the game. That was when Stephens hit the tough shot to make it 81-81 and force overtime.
 
The game was tied at 84-84 after the opening minute of overtime as both teams traded baskets from behind the arc. The Huskies went on an 8-5 run over the next three minutes to lead by three with under a minute left in the game. After Stephens hit a free throw, Millar hit a layup to make it 93-91 for the Huskies with just 26 seconds left in the game. The Cougars were forced to play the foul game, fouling Stephens with 11 seconds on the clock. He hit both free throws to push the Huskies lead back up to four points. Thomas answered quickly with a layup to make it 95-93 for the Huskies and a one possession game. Stephens was fouled once again and hit two clutch free throws. That would be it, as the Cougars ran out of time and the Huskies punched their ticket to the national tournament.
 
Stephens finished with a line of 29 points, four rebounds, and two assists to lead the Huskies in scoring. The Huskies also got good performances from Dewar (17 points, two rebounds), De Ciman (13 points, seven rebounds, two assists), and Demosthene (12 points, nine rebounds, four assists).
 
Millar led the way for the Cougars, scoring a game-high 30 points and shot 5-of-8 from behind the arc. He also grabbed 11 boards for the double-double. Kuski (20 points, 5-of-10 from three), Hillis (15 points, seven rebounds, four assists), and Thomas (14 points, nine rebounds, five assists) all scored in double-digits for Regina.
 
The Huskies will head to the U SPORTS Final 8, which is set to take place in Edmonton from April 1-3.

Kuski knocks one down to tie it in OT! pic.twitter.com/0Ds8VeMswx

— U of R Cougars MBB (@cougsmbb) March 20, 2022