SASKATOON – The No. 6 University of Saskatchewan Huskies shot 63 per cent en route to a 101-76 win over the visiting Trinity Western University Spartans Saturday night at the PAC in Saskatoon.

The Huskies finished the night 37-of-59 from the field and 12-of-25 from behind the three-point line while the Spartans shot just 41 percent in the loss and were six for 27 from beyond the arc.

With the win, Saskatchewan improves its record to 12-4 and extends its winning streak to eight. Trinity Western drops to 1-15 on the season. The weekend sweep keeps the Huskies among the front runners for the top seed in the Canada West Pioneer Division.

The Huskies hit their first four shots on Saturday to grab an early lead and Dadrian Collins and Andrew Henry both hit 3-point shots to help Saskatchewan to a 27-21 lead after 10 minutes.

Trinity Western managed to battle back in the second quarter with a couple runs of its own. The Spartans used back-to-back 3-point plays in the opening minutes to cut into the Huskie lead. Saskatchewan continued its strong shooting, finishing the half 59.4 per cent from the field, to take a 49-41 lead into the locker room at halftime.

The Spartans came out of halftime with a strong push and cut the deficit to five. The Huskies put a stop to the Trinity Western comeback with strong defence and transition scores. Saskatchewan extended the lead to 15 points at 74-59 heading into the fourth quarter and grew it to as much as 25 points in the closing minutes of the contest.

Collins finished the night with a team-high 26 points for the Huskies on 9-of-13 shooting. Collins hit 6-of-10 attempts from 3-point range. Ben Baker poured in another 22 points and five assists, while Matt Forbes scored 16 points and pulled down a game-high nine rebounds. Evan Osterag and Mike Scott both scored in the double digits off the bench with 14 and 11 respectively.

Justin Bakuteka (Toronto) led the way for the Spartans as he racked up a game-high 27 points. Taylor Heinrichs (Port Moody, B.C.) scored another 13 points while Tyus Allen (White Rock, B.C.) recorded a game-high eight assists. All five Trinity Western starters grabbed at least four rebounds.

The Spartans will host the Winnipeg Wesmen for a weekend series Feb. 6-7 while Saskatchewan will look to keep the winning streak going when they visit Lethbridge next weekend to take on the Pronghorns.

Game Notes: The Huskies bench outscored TWU 31-16…Saskatchewan had a 36-34 edge in rebounds…after losing by 46 points Friday, TWU closed the gap Saturday to 25 points against the highly-ranked Huskies.

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