QUICKLY
The University of Regina's men's basketball team surged ahead of Alberta with a huge third quarter, then held on for a 72-68 road win over the Golden Bears on Saturday night at the Saville Community Sports Centre in Edmonton.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The two teams played a back-and-forth first half. The Cougars took a 17-12 lead after the opening quarter before Matt Barnard and Lodie Kenyi sparked an 8-0 run that put the Cougars up by six. But those would be the last points of the half for Regina, and Brandon Meiklejohn and Adam Paige combined to score nine straight points for Alberta to send the Golden Bears into halftime with a 32-29 lead.
• The Cougars came out flying in the third quarter. Arinze Emeka-Anyakwo scored a bucket on the U of R's first second-half possession, and that started a 19-5 run for Regina that put the Cougars up by double digits.
• Not surprisingly, this Alberta team was far from done despite falling behind. Meiklejohn three-pointers on back-to-back possessions to start the fourth quarter got Alberta back to within seven, and the Golden Bears continued to chip away at the Regina lead and knotted it at 66-66 with 1:15 to go on a layup by Paige.
• After the teams traded empty possessions, Barnard collected a rebound following a Kenyi miss and hit the putback to put the Cougars up 68-66. Paige had an opportunity to tie it with 13 seconds left but his layup rimmed out, and Arinze Emeka-Anyakwo calmly drained two free throws to put the Cougars up by four with 11 seconds to go. 

NOTES

• The Barnard brothers led the Cougars in scoring with Matt Barnard putting up 22 points and Nick Barnard finishing with 16. Matt also led the team in both rebounds (7) and assists (4).
• Kenyi finished in double figures with 11 points.
• The Cougars now have a Canada West record of 13-3 as they continue to enjoy one of the best regular seasons in team history. Their .813 winning percentage is currently the best ever registered by a U of R men's basketball team, topping the 2005-06 team that compiled a 16-4 record in Canada West play.
• Meiklejohn and Paige both had 20-point nights for Alberta. Meiklejohn finished with a game-high 24 points while Paige scored 22.

NEXT UP
The Cougars will now prepare for a road series against a Saskatchewan team which will bring an 8-8 record into the weekend. Games are scheduled for Friday night and Saturday night in Saskatoon.