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Men’s basketball team sweeps Wesmen
by Chris Jaster
the Carillon
The University of Regina men’s basketball team reached the .500 mark this weekend, winning two games against the University of Winnipeg Wesmen.
The Cougars improved to 3-3 this season with an 80-73 win on Friday and an 86-56 win on Saturday. The losses dropped the Wesmen to 0-6 and left them in last place in the Great Plains division in the Canada West conference.
“It’s good to get back on track. We had a real nice start to our exhibition season and we’ve sort of been on a skid the last little bit with guys hurt,” says Cougars head coach James Hillis.
The Cougars were sparked by the return of some players from injuries as Tyler Wright, Zach Michell and Brad Fekula returned to the lineup.
“With university basketball, you play your top eight guys and our top eight guys are the guys that are injured,” says Cougar forward Wright. “We played together as a team and part of our strength is that we have depth. With our depth, we were able to successfully win.”
“We had myself, Brad Fekula, Greg McKoy, Drew Kuzmiski and Tyler Wright starting,” explains third-year guard Joel Hunter, “which is basically two guys that normally start. So, we have three guys who came off the bench and started, and they gave us good minutes. They contributed a lot and played great for us.”
One player that stood out in the second game for the Cougars was Zach Michell, a third-year guard.
Michell stood out in the second half of Saturday’s game hitting five three-point shots and ended the game leading the team in scoring with 16 points.
“I had a sprained ankle and I wasn’t supposed to play this weekend,” says Michell. “I shot five three-pointers in the first half, but I missed them all. I got motivated when the coach said to keep shooting and I made them in the second half.”
“Zach’s a great player, but his role is not to score, he shoots when he is open, but he basically runs the offence and makes sure everyone on the team get touches,” says Hunter. “They were leaving him open on the three-point line and he was knocking them down.”
The first half of Saturday’s game was a tight battle until the Cougars went on an 11-2 to grab a 34-21 lead.
“I don’t think that deflated us as much as they got on a roll and got their confidence up,” explains Wesmen head coach Dave Crook.
The Cougars were not happy with their defensive effort in the first game, allowing 73 points in the seven-point win and planned to improve on that in the rematch, and they did.
“Hillis told us Friday was their chance and not to make [Saturday’s game] a close game,” says Hunter. “They had 27 points in the first half and 56 at the end of the game.”
“Friday night, we played with good intensity, we played with good effort and we played with good enthusiasm,” explains Hillis, “but it seemed like every defensive possession there would have one guy that would make that little mistake, and it would be a different guy every time.
“[Saturday], we just maintained our focus a little bit better and 56 points is a pretty good score in university basketball. If we can put that defensive effort forward night afer night, then we should have some good success this year.”
The Cougars are currently tied for second in the Great Plains division of Canada West with Brandon University. Winnipeg is last in the Great Plains division.
The Cougars’ next games are on Friday, November 28 against the University of Victoria Vikes (5-1) in the University of Regina’s main gym at 8:00 p.m. The Cougars will then host the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds (4-2) on Sunday, November 30 at 3:00 p.m. in the U of R main gym.
Greg McKoy (#34) plays some defence against a Wesmen player
photo by Isis Materano
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