Wesmen Athletics
Wesmen Advance To Final Four
The Wesmen Defeated The Trinity Western University Spartans 101-76 In The Third And Deciding Game Of The Series To Earn A Spot In The CW Final Four..
Canada West Men's Basketball Quarter-Finals (best of three)
Game Three - Sunday, February 24
WESMEN 101 Trinity Western 76
The Winnipeg Wesmen Men's Basketball team advanced to their first ever Canada West Final Four with a convincing 101-76 victory over the Trinity Western University Spartans in game three of their Canada West quarter final series Sunday afternoon at the Duckworth Centre in Winnipeg.
Game Statistics
Winnipeg wins the best of three series 2-1 and will play in the Canada West Final Four March 1 - 2. The location and teams will be determined following play in the remaining quarter-final series being played later today at UBC and Saskatchewan.
Winnipeg received a total team effort with six players scoring in double digits. Steven Wesley led the charge with 19 points. Travis Krahn and Jordan Clennon each added 16. Benny Iko finished with 15. Guard Andrew Cunningham had 14 points and 13 assists. Nolan Gooding contributed 11. Iko and Krahn led the team in rebounds with seven.
Justin Bakuteka led the Spartans with 19 points, including five three-pointers. Tristan Smith had 17 points, six assists and three-three pointers. Tonner Jackson and Mark Perrin each finished with 11.
Winnipeg's offensive display was propelled by the long ball. The Wesmen connected on 16-of-27 shots (59%) from three point territory on their way to scoring their second most points of the season. Winnipeg scored 103 points against Brandon back on November 15, 2012.
The Wesmen opened the contest on a quick 9-0 run with the game barely three minutes old. Winnipeg drained five three-pointers in the quarter and raced out to a 31-17 lead after the opening quarter. The Wesmen maintained their double-digit lead for a good portion of the second quarter until a late 9-0 run by the Spartans cut the Wesmen lead to 49-43 with 50 seconds left in the opening half. Steven Wesley added a basket for Winnipeg to send them into the halftime break leading 51-43.
Winnipeg took control of the game, going on a 16-5 run in the opening four minutes to extend their lead to 67-47 . Winnipeg went into the final quarter leading 84-63 and held off any Spartans charge in the final quarter to make the final score 101-76.
Notes: Both teams finished the contest with 33 rebounds. Trinity Western had 10-three pointers in the contest.
Game Two - Saturday, February 23
WESMEN 77 Trinity Western 68
A hot shooting Winnipeg Wesmen team defeated the Trinity Western University Spartans 77-68 Saturday night at the Duckworth Centre to even the best of three Canada West Quarter-Finals series at 1-1.
Game Statistics
Game three of the series will take place on Sunday afternoon at 2:00 p.m.
Winnipeg connected on 53% shooting from the field and stepped up their defensive play holding the Spartans to 68 points, including 30 in the opening half.
Andrew Cunningham led the Wesmen with 16 points and 17 assists. Cunninghams 17 helpers ties a Canada West single game assists record. Whitby Hornsberger (Calgary) set the mark in 2003.
Steven Wesley and Travis Krahn each scored 14. Krahn finished the contest with four-three pointers. Jordan Clennon added 10 points.
Tonner Jackson led the Spartans with 15 points and 10 rebounds. Denny McDonald had 14 while guard Tristan Smith finished with 13 points and nine assists.
A focus and determined Wesmen squad opened the contest scoring eight of the first 10 points with the game barely three minutes old. The Spartans narrowed the deficit to 15-13 late in the quarter but a three pointer by Benny Iko followed by a last second basket by Krahn gave Winnipeg a 20-13 lead after the opening quarter.
Winnipeg continued to put the pressure on the Spartans in the second quarter and on a few occasions were able to build a double digit lead, the latest coming on back to back baskets by Jordan Clennon with 5:00 remaining. Mark Perrin answered back scoring five straight points to cut the Wesmen lead to 33-28. The Wesmen held their ground and extended their lead at halftime to 40-30 thanks in part to baskets by Steven Wesley and a three pointer by Krahn with eight seconds left in the quarter.
The Wesmen continued to hold a double digit lead for a good portion of the third quarter. The Spartans did not fold, scoring 10 straight points to cut the Winnipeg lead to 54-51. The Spartans would eventually go on to outscore the Wesmen 26-19 in the quarter to trail 59-56 heading into the fourth quarter.
An 8-0 run by the Wesmen in the opening 1:30 of the fourth quarter extended their lead back to double digits at 67-56. The Spartans cut the Wesmen lead to 74-68 late in the frame but Cunningham drained three foul shots to put the game out of reach.
Game One - Friday, February 22
WESMEN 78 Trinity Western 86
The Trinity Western University Spartans opened the best of the three Canada West Quarter-Finals with an 86-78 victory over the Winnipeg Wesmen Friday night in front of 1188 spectators at the Duckworth Centre in Winnipeg.
Game Statistics
Third year forward Tonner Jackson led the Spartans with 24 points, including 12-of-13 from the free throw line. Guard Mark Perrin had a double-double 18 points and 10 rebounds. Tristan Smith finished with 15 points, seven assists and two steals.
Winnipeg was led by fourth year guard Andrew Cunningham's 21 points, 12 assists and seven rebounds. Steven Wesley finished with 16 points and seven rebounds. Jordan Clennon had 15 while Mark McNee added 10 points.
Winnipeg supported by a loud home crowd jumped out to a 11-4 near the midway point of the opening quarter. The Spartans responded scoring eight straight points, including back-to-back three pointers by Mark Perrin to tie the score at 11-11. The teams exchanged baskets for the final four minutes with the Spartans holding a 22-19 lead after one quarter.
The Spartans took advantage of several Wesmen turnovers in the second period and were able to extend their lead to 37-24 after three Jackson free throws with under seven minutes to play. Winnipeg fought back scoring six straight points to cut the lead to 37-30 but another Spartans run a few minutes later pushed their lead to double-digits at 48-34 with 2:10 remaining. The Spartans went into the halftime break leading 52-39.
Winnipeg scored some early baskets at the start of the third quarter to cut into the Spartans lead. Jordan Clennon drained a three pointer with 4:20 remaining to cut the deficit to 61-55. The Spartans held off the Wesmen attack and went in to the final quarter leading 69-61.
The Spartans enjoyed a double-digit lead for the opening 6:30 of the final quarter until the Wesmen made a run outscoring the Spartans 8-2 to cut the lead to 82-78 with 1:20 remaining. Winnipeg had chances but were unable to find the basket. Jackson secured the win sinking four free throws in the final minute to make the final 86-78.
Game two of the best of three series will take place at the Duckworth Centre on Saturday. Game time is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.
