CALGARY, Alberta – The Trinity Western Spartans started strong, but were unable to stay with Calgary as the Dinos defeated the Spartans 110-70 Friday night at the Jack Simpson Gym in Calgary, Alta. The loss drops the Spartans to 2-11 in conference play, while the win moves the Dinos to 11-5.
TWU trailed 25-21 after the first quarter, and 57-35 at the half.
Second-year forward
Aristote Kalala with 14 points, four rebounds, and two blocks, and third-year guard
Leif Skelding (Coquitlam, B.C.) with 11 points, and three assists led the Spartans. Nate Petrone with 24 points, 10 rebounds, and seven assists, Javier Ramos-Yzquierdo with 16 points, four assists, and three rebounds, and Noah Wharton with 12 points led the Dinos.
AS IT HAPPENED
Facing off against the twin towers of the Spartans, Calgary inserted both Spencer Roberts and Sran Gurshan into the starting lineup. The Dinos were +8 with the two-big lineup on the floor the first quarter. Despite a cold start shooting the ball (38%), the Spartans kept the deficit to four points after ten minutes.
The advantage the Spartans have experienced before at the rim evaporated in the second quarter. Despite boasting two of the top five players in blocks in the conference and holding teams to the fifth-worst opposing field goal percentage, Calgary built a 34-16 advantage on points in the paint at the half. Noah Wharton and Nate Petrone shifted into high gear to close the quarter, combining for 26 points and only three missed field goals.
Due largely to the play of
Leif Skelding, who was 3-3 from 3-point range, the game didn't feel out of reach for the Spartans at half. The same couldn't be said two minutes into the third quarter.
Nate Petrone chased the Spartans starters from the floor on the back of a 10-2 Calgary run to open the third quarter. The Dinos opened the quarter 7-7 from the field, burgeoning the voice of the crowd and the lead to 30 points.
With the game largely decided after 30 minutes, both teams deployed their second unit for the majority of the fourth quarter.
Aristote Kalala put together his best stretch of minutes, scoring seven points and recording two blocks, but the show belonged to the Dinos freshmen talent.
Jaylen Lee poured in 11 points in the final frame and Beckett Johnson used a thunderous dunk with 30 seconds remaining to register the first points of his young U SPORTS career.
NOTABLE
- The Spartans finished the night shooting 38 percent (27-71) from the field, 24.1 percent (7-29) from the three-point line, and 60 percent (9-15) from the foul line. While the Dinos shot 56.8 percent (46-81) from the field, 42.3 percent (11-26) from the three-point line and 58.3 percent (7-12) from the foul line.
- Calgary had a 50-34 edge in rebounding.
- The Spartans had 12 points off of turnovers, while the Dinos had 14.
- Last week Trinity Western split with the No. 1 Victoria Vikes, losing 93-89, and then winning 92-85 in overtime at home in Langley, B.C.
- Last week Calgary defeated the Thompson Rivers WolfPack, winning 98-83 on Friday, and 79-77 on Saturday in Calgary, Alta.
- The Spartans are 11-21 lifetime against the Dinos.
- TWU last defeated the Dinos, 102-92, on March 4, 2022, in the Canada West playoffs in Calgary, Alta.
UP NEXT
The Spartans and Dinos will finish the two-game series tomorrow night at 8 p.m. the Jack Simpson Gym in Calgary, Alta. The game can be seen live on Canadawest.TV.
About Spartan Athletics
As official members of U SPORTS, the Spartans currently compete in 13 sports in the Canada West conference, including women's and men's soccer, volleyball, basketball, hockey, cross country, and track & field, as well as women's rugby sevens. TWU also competes as an independent team in men's rugby. Since TWU entered U SPORTS in 1999, the Spartans have won 14 U SPORTS team championships and 34 Canada West team championships.
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