EDMONTON – Jerric Palma (Richmond, B.C.) hit a buzzer-beating shot from in the paint to lift the Spartans to an 83-81 win over MacEwan Friday at the David Atkinson Gymnasium. 

After the Griffins tied the game tied 81-81 with 11 seconds to play, Palma responded with a game-winning bucket that gave the Spartans their third win in four preseason outings. 

Palma finished the night with 27 points to go with a team-high eight rebounds, while Aristote Kalala (Cape Town, South Africa) had 14 points. 

MacEwan had four players in double-digits for points, led by Filip Karanovic, who had 17 points.

QUOTABLE
Trevor Pridie, TWU Head Coach
"It was an ugly win. MacEwan did a good job defending us tonight. This is hopefully a game we can learn some stuff from. Aris had a great game, which was a huge positive for us. We obviously missed Connor. Jerric hit a huge shot for us to win the game, but we need to figure out how to put teams away. We had multiple chances tonight but let them back in it."

NEXT UP
The Spartans will play their final preseason game Saturday against Alberta at 2 p.m. (MT). TWU opens the Canada West regular season Oct. 31 at home against three-time defending conference champion Victoria. 

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 and women's and men's disc golf. Since TWU entered U SPORTS in 1999, the Spartans have won 14 U SPORTS team championships and 34 Canada West team championships.

About Trinity Western University
Recognized for quality, TWU has received seven consecutive A+ rankings for Quality of Teaching and Learning, holds three Canada Research Chairs, and wins national championships in CIS sports. More importantly, lives are changed at TWU through its whole-person, Christ-centred approach to education. With a wide array of undergraduate, graduate, and adult degree-completion programs, TWU equips leaders of character and competence to make a positive impact in the lives of others.  

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