Friday November 02, 2007

CALGARY - Henry Bekkering hit an eight-foot jump shot at the buzzer as the Calgary Dinos overcame a sloppy, error-filled second half to record a 64-62 win over the Victoria Vikes Friday at the Jack Simpson Gym.

Holding possession with less than 30 seconds to play and the score tied 62-62, the Vikes missed a shot as the shot clock buzzer went off, giving Calgary the ball with just over six seconds to play. Robbie Sihota found Jeff Price with a long pass up the court, and Price forwarded it to Bekkering inside the key. The NCAA transfer, playing his first CIS game, took one dribble then put up a turnaround jumper that bounced around the rim before falling good, sending the 915 fans in attendance into a frenzy.

“It was fun to make that shot, but I didn’t really have a great game, and I took some bad shots too,” said Bekkering, who finished with 15 points and five rebounds on the night. “Our defense wasn’t that good, and we didn’t execute on offense. It was good to get our first Canada West win, but we have to play better tomorrow.”

Bekkering provided two highlight-reel moments to bookend the game – the buzzer-beater to win it, along with an alley oop dunk early in the contest.

Calgary executed well early and jumped out to a 19-15 lead after the first quarter, but tenacious defence by the Vikes limited the Dinos’ success through the next two quarters. Tyler Hass gave the Vikes the lead at 25-24 midway through the second quarter, a lead they would hold until the early moments of the fourth when Sihota put the Dinos up 53-32.

While Victoria played tight defence, the Dinos struggled with theirs, especially off the glass. Victoria grabbed 13 offensive rebounds to Calgary’s 21 defensive boards, but Victoria’s often came at key moments.

Despite its defensive troubles, Calgary was able to keep the game within reach, never falling more than five points behind Victoria. After finally putting together a couple of defensive stops early in the fourth quarter, the Dinos took the 53-52 lead, setting up an intense final eight minutes. The Vikes kept the Dinos from getting more than three points ahead and took a 60-59 lead themselves when Hass made a lay-up with just over three minutes remaining. The teams traded baskets from there, and Victoria took a 62-61 lead with 90 seconds to play. Sihota hit one of two free throws to tie it up, setting up Bekkering’s heroics at the buzzer.

“We’ll always take a W. An ugly win is better than losing the basketball game,” said Calgary coach Dan Vanhooren. “We have a talented team, and maybe the last couple years we don’t win that game.

“We really didn’t shoot it well all night long. The other thing that hurt us was rebounding and our turnovers in the second quarter. It was a big hoop by Henry at the end, and some big hoops by Robbie Sihota down the stretch there as well.”

Calgary had several opportunities to put the game away but shot an anemic 54 per cent from the free throw line, including only five of 13 in the second half. Ross Bekkering missed six straight free throws in the fourth quarter, and Sihota only managed to go 4-for-7 from the line.

Hass led the way for Victoria with 15 points, while Robbie Kinnear had a monster night with 13 points and 14 rebounds. Ross Bekkering matched Kinnear’s double-double with one of his own, potting 11 points and hauling in 10 boards. Sihota added 15 points, while senior Cody Darrah added a dozen for Calgary.

The win puts Calgary at 1-0 to open the Canada West season, while Victoria falls to 2-1 after its first setback of the season.

The Vikes head south to face the Lethbridge Pronghorns Saturday night, while the Dinos will play host to the UBC Thunderbirds, with tip-off slated for 8 p.m.

BOX SCORE