Recovering from a finger injury that kept him out of all of the Dinos pre-season training, followed by a wrist sprain early in the pre-season, Ross Bekkering recovered this weekend to become the co-Dino of the Week. Cody Darrah continued his consistent play leading the Dinos in scoring against SFU while making several key plays against the TWU Spartans.

Against Simon Frasier, Ross regained his form as one of the most dominant rebounders in the country, and showed the beginnings of his shooting touch. In the 84-66 win, Ross recorded 13 points on 4 of 7 shooting, including 5 of 8 from the free throw line, while grabbing a team high 10 rebounds and blocking 2 shots. He also recorded one of the most memorable dunks ever to be seen in the Jack Simpson gym as he ‘posterized’ a SFU Clan guard.

Cody recorded his second straight hot shooting outing against SFU recording 21 points on 5 of 12 shooting including 4 of 7 from the 3-point line, 7 of 8 from the free throw line while adding 5 rebounds and 4 assists.

The game against TWU saw the Dinos out to a cold start, but both Ross and Cody finished the game strong while handling the Spartan pressure. Ross finished with a team high 22 points while pulling down 13 rebounds, 2 blocks and 2 steals. Cody finished the weekend strong scoring 19 points, while pulling down a career high 8 rebounds and dishing out 6 assists in a stat sheet stuffer.

The Dinos resume play this weekend at home against the Lethbridge Pronghorns for two critical in division games. Game times are 8pm on Friday and Saturday at the ‘Jack’.

A wide-eyed clutch of Dinos wandered aimlessly onto the field of battle. The mile -a -minute Spartans proceeded to toss the bigger home team around like screaming kids on a circus roller-coaster. At the start of the first half, the woefully unprepared Dinos turned the ball over at a nauseating rate … first 5 possessions, 25 overall !

Parents covered the eyes of their younger children, as the action became x-rated and the carnage ended with Trinity Western up 51 - 33 at the half. Calgary couldn’t get the ball over centre with an armed escort, and the Trinity shooters had ripped the cords with 9 treys, while penetrating the porous Dinos defense at will. Calgary’s press breaker, Josh Feist , was having a night to forget, so we turn to Tony Dhaliwal, the little used back-up point guard.

Some might predict the result would be akin to throwing gasoline on a burning fire, but ‘T D’ fought fire with fire, as he led the Dinos on a blistering 40-11 run as Calgary caught and passed the Spartans in the first 5 minutes of the second half. The Dinos never looked back, and outscored Trinity 67 - 40 in that second frame to win their second Canada West game of the weekend by a 100-91 count.

The aggressive Dhaliwal wound up with 12 pts., 8 assists, and 0 turnovers in saving his more seasoned teammates. Ross Bekkering had 22 points and 13 rebounds … Cody Darrah counted 19 pts and 8 boards … Joe Schow notched 15 pts., 9 rebounds and 3 big blocks. Robbie Sihota with 14 and Jeremy Odland with 13 were also a big factor in the stirring comeback which had the Dinos fans on their feet.

It’s not an experience recommended for the faint of heart, but it’s one which will be remembered for its incredible action and stunning turn of fortune. As the Trinity foul total mounted, it was also one of the longest games on record as the Dinos went to the line a record 60 times!

Calgary faces the Lethbridge Pronghorns here next Friday and Saturday.

Calgary vs. TWU Box Score

The clash with the Simon Fraser Clan had every bit of the hammer and tong physical action as advertised, and the Dinos made the Burnaby crew pay dearly for a brutal 32 fouls, scoring 29 pts. from the free throw stripe and prevailing 84-66 for their first win in Canada West play.

Simon Fraser tried to throw their considerable weight around in an effort to intimidate the quicker Dinos, but the strategy backfired as the game wore on. With a 35-26 half-time lead, Calgary got timely 3 pt. shooting from wing-men Cody Darrah - 21 pts, and Brian Finnis - 14 pts. to pull away in the final 8 minutes. Ross Bekkering, rounding into form following an injury-plagued September and October, chipped in 13 pts. including a startling dunk off the fast break. Top rebounders for the Dinos were Bekkering with 10 and Darrah with 5.

Josh Feist had 8 assists and 5 steals to spark an offense that struggled for much of the first half. Calgary out-scored the Clan 49-40 in the very rough second frame. Calgary is now 1-2 and SFU goes to 1-4 in Canada West play.

Dinos Vs. Clan Box Score