The UFV men’s team went up against a Calgary Dinos squad on Friday that would intimidate just about anyone. The Dinos are not only the defending national champions, but they are also undefeated so far this season. UFV had to use its size and length in order to have a chance against a team as well balanced and fast as the Dinos, who do just about everything well. UFV fell to Calgary in two games this past weekend but don’t let that fool you. They were contested with no shortage of highlight reel plays and effort.
UFV had a hard time scoring in the first quarter, largely due to excellent play from the Dino’s #15 Brett Layton and #0 David Kapinga. The first quarter score was 16-9 for Calgary and they continued their style of play into the second, also winning that quarter by seven points with a score of 19-12.
The third quarter proved difficult for the Cascades as Calgary only continued to improve. Their rebounding became very effective and while UFV continued to score at a similar rate, the opposing team’s offence improved. The fourth quarter saw improvement for UFV but not enough to put them back in the game. Upon a massive alley-oop slam from Brett Layton, it appeared the Cascades were outmatched, as Calgary went on to win 85-51.
The second game, which took place on Saturday, proved to be much different. UFV came with a chip on their shoulder, unafraid of Calgary’s championship-caliber play. They won the first quarter 16-13 — a massive improvement from the previous night. The passion was noticeable from the Cascades as they could sense that a win was possible. Calgary, however, came back and won the second quarter 22-13 upon a great scoring streak from #11 Lucas Mannes.
UFV knew that they had to play well if they were going to upset the defending champs, but the third quarter was all Calgary. The Dinos outscored the Cascades 20-6, almost putting the game out of reach. It would take a Herculean effort from the Cascades to reverse such a lopsided score. UFV came out in the fourth quarter with caution to the wind and wound up outscoring Calgary 24-14. It wasn’t enough, as Calgary would hang on and win (by a much closer score than the night before) 69-59.
Come see the Cascades play their last regular season home game of the year versus the Trinity Western Spartans on Friday, Feb. 1 at the Envision Financial Athletic Centre.
Image: Dan Kinvig/UFV Athletics
