QUICKLY
The University of Regina's men's basketball team needed overtime, but defeated Mount Royal by a score of 89-84 on Saturday night in a highly entertaining Canada West game at the Centre for Kinesiology, Health & Sport in Regina.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The first half was an exceptionally close 20 minutes of basketball. Neither team led by more than four, and the squads were separated by three or fewer points for 18:29 of the opening two quarters.
• The Cougars finally threw the game's first punch coming out of halftime. Three-pointers by Cade Mather and Nick Barnard bookended a 10-0 run which put Regina up by double digits, but Mount Royal was far from finished.
• Regina went up by nine after a Jalen Edwards three early in the fourth, but MRU chipped away at the lead and finally broke through with a Keivonte Watts bucket with just under two minutes to go. Regina immediately answered with a Nick Barnard three-pointer, but a steal and another bucket by Watts tied it up at 76-76. The Cougars had a chance to win it at the buzzer, but a long triple by Nick Barnard rimmed out and the game went to overtime.
• Simply put, the extra session belonged to Lodie Kenyi. He caught fire in overtime and scored 12 of the team's 13 points, including buckets on back-to-back-to-back possessions which put the Cougars up five with a minute to go. Mount Royal got a basket from Holt Tomie on the next possession, but Kenyi followed with a free throw to make it a two-possession game and the Cougars sealed the win with a defensive stop.

NOTES

• Kenyi ended up with a team-high 27 points for the Cougars, the most he's scored in a U of R uniform.
• Arinze Emeka-Anyakwo was also brilliant in the win, scoring a career-high 25 points while pulling down 11 rebounds for the double-double and also dishing out 5 assists.
• The Cougars (12-2) continue to boast the best record in Canada West. Brandon (12-4), Calgary (12-4), and Victoria (9-3) are all tied for second place with .750 winning percentages.

NEXT UP
The Cougars will have a stern road test next weekend against an Alberta squad that will bring a 9-5 record and a three-game winning streak into the series. The Golden Bears have been ranked No. 3 in the nation since late November.