LANGLEY, British Columbia - The Trinity Western Spartans broke a 10-game losing streak Saturday night and also won their first home game of the season with a 97-84 victory over the Winnipeg Wesmen Saturday night at the Langley Events Centre.

Playing in his final home game, graduating senior Denny McDonald (Mississauga, Ont.) had a career-high 33 points to go with 10 rebounds and several emphatic crowd-pleasing plays. Also playing in his last home game was Justin Bakuteka (Toronto, Ont.) who had 18 points, six rebounds and four assists. Taylor Heinrichs (Port Moody, B.C.) ended the night with 19 points, three rebounds and an assist.

Jelane Pryce led Winnipeg with 20 points, three rebounds and an assist. Teammate Denzel Lynch-Blair had 17 points, two rebounds and one assist.

Both teams began on a similar level, staying tied nearly the whole first quarter. The Spartans went full speed ahead in the second half however and never looked back. The Spartans are now 2-16 on the season while Winnipeg is 11-7.

The Spartans finish off the season on the road against Victoria while Winnipeg will host Regina Feb. 13-14.

"Sometimes you forget how good it feels to win," said Spartans coach Scott Allen. "It seems like every interview we've done this year, I've said the same thing: 'The guys work hard enough to deserve a win, but we didn't get it done.' It's pretty fitting to win the last game at home. Denny put it all together like we knew he could. We limited our turnovers and everyone contributed today. It's a perfect way to end our home season.

"The guys stuck to the plan today. That's what it was. We blocked out and we competed on the boards continually. We played like monsters. In that way, you can't say anymore. It's been a tough season, but they haven't quit the whole year. It's a credit to them and the coaches for finishing strong."

Midway through the first quarter, the teams were tied 8-8, but soon after, the Spartans grabbed the lead at 14-10. However, the Wesmen didn't lag behind for long and ended the quarter back on even terms, at 16-16.

The two teams stayed within close distance of each other through the second quarter, tying it up yet again at 23-23. The Spartans took the lead at 33-31 after a three-pointer from Matt Blackaby (Maple Ridge, B.C.). While the Spartans were unable to put the Wesmen scoring on hold, they did hang onto their slight lead and ended the half up 41-39. McDonald led the first half of the game in scoring, tallying 11 points and three rebounds.

The Spartans dug deep in the first few minutes of the second half, gaining a 13-point lead over the Wesmen 58-43. Although the Wesmen gained some headway, the scoreboard stayed in the Spartans favour, as they kept the lead heading into the last quarter at 69-61.

The Spartans reestablished its double-digit lead within the first minute of the final frame, with the Spartans going up 72-61. While the Spartans had kept a convincing lead for the first half of the last quarter, the Wesmen surged forward, landing the score at 82-78. An alley-oop from Tyus Allen (White Rock, B.C.) to McDonald drove the score up to 96-83 in the last minute of the game.

After seven years as the TWU head coach, Saturday's contest was Allen's final home game as he will leave the program following this season.

"For me, it's been an amazing experience coaching these guys," Allen said. "Coaching at the CIS level is a treat. Instead of high school kids, I got a chance to impact university guys and I think our staff has done an amazing job of that this year."

Game Notes: McDonald's previous career high was 30 points, set on February 15, 2014 against Fraser Valley… The Spartans collected 35 rebounds compared to the Wesmen who had 23…TWU limited its turnovers to just 18 while Winnipeg had only 12 turnovers.

-TW-