LANGLEY, B.C. – The University of Calgary Dinos completed a weekend sweep of the Trinity Western Spartans with a 110-86 win on Saturday evening at the Jack Simpson Gym.
The Spartans bounced back from a 38-point loss Friday to put together a much better performance Saturday, but it wasn't quite enough as the Dinos pulled away late after TWU had an early second-half lead.
Ja'Qualyn Gilbreath (Amarillo, Texas) led the Spartans with 31 points and eight boards, while
Riley Braich (Abbotsford, B.C.) put up 25 points in just his second game with TWU. The third-year Braich, who transferred to TWU this year after most recently playing for the University of the Fraser Valley, had been sidelined with an injury up until this weekend.
Fourth-year Calgary forward Brett Layton continued his outstanding start to the season, posting a season-high 40 points and 20 rebounds in the win.
The win sees the Dinos move to 6-0, while the Spartans remain winless in six.
Similar to Friday night's opening quarter, the home team was dominant through the first 10 minutes of play. With fouls flying left and right at both ends of the court, it was the Dinos who poured in consecutive threes to take the quarter 32-18.
While the first quarter saw the Dinos get off to a blazing start, the second quarter was a different story. The Spartans outscored the Dinos by eight in the quarter to bring the game within two heading into the second half. Gilbreath led the Spartans with 12 points in the second.
Coming out of the halftime break, the Spartans found themselves in foul trouble with two Spartans having their night end early in the third. The Dinos on the other hand took advantage of the lean Spartan team to get back into the groove and go up 81-63 heading into the final 10 minutes of play.
With two Spartans players already out for the night, the Dinos continued to build momentum in the fourth and extend their lead. When all was said and done, a total of five Spartans fouled out on the night as they struggled to start building any momentum on the court.
The trio of Ezeoha Santiago, Noah Wharton, and Mason Foreman were stellar in supporting roles to Layton's big night. Santiago finished off the night with 24 points, while Wharton and Foreman finished off the night with 13 and 15 points respectively.
QUOTABLE
Trevor Pridie – TWU Head Coach
"We had a really good first half. We came out and executed well offensively and defensively. It was a really good bounce back from last night. We took the lead early in the third, but their inside play was too much for us. They shot 43 free throws to our 11. That being said, it was a game for 35 minutes. Riley had a nice night. It was great to see him find some kind of rhythm and hit seven threes."
NOTABLE
• TWU had a 12-8 edge in points off turnovers.
• The Spartans had an 18-11 advantage in bench points.
• Braich was 6 for 13 from 3-point land in the second half.
• Next weekend, when the Spartans host MacEwan, TWU will be looking for its first regular season win since Feb. 2, 2018 when they beat the Griffins 97-88.
NEXT UP
The Spartans are back on campus next weekend as they will host MacEwan Nov. 29-30 at TWU's David E. Enarson Gym.
About Spartan Athletics
As official members of U SPORTS, the Spartans currently compete in 11 sports in the Canada West conference, including women's and men's soccer, volleyball, basketball, cross country and track & field, as well as women's rugby sevens. TWU also competes in the British Columbia Intercollegiate Hockey League (BCIHL) in men's hockey and as an independent team in men's rugby. The men's and women's hockey programs will begin playing in Canada West and U SPORTS in 2020-21. Since TWU entered U SPORTS in 1999, the Spartans have won 12 U SPORTS team championships and 27 Canada West team championships and two BCIHL championships.
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