Cooper comes up big in Dinos’ season finale
Thomas Cooper earned his second Canada West men’s basketball scoring title in a row with 32 points on the way to the University of Calgary Dinos’ 95-87 win over the MacEwan University Griffins on Saturday.
On the same night the Dinos were celebrating their graduating seniors — including Cooper, Dallas Karch and Jasdeep Gill — they combined for 44 points in the win.
Tied 38-38 at halftime, Calgary pulled away in the third before stifling the Griffins’ comeback bid in the final frame.
“We played with a lack of inspired effort for a good amount of the first half,” Dinos head coach Dan Vanhooren said. “But even in the third, we still gave up three or four threes to actions we shouldn’t give up a three-ball to, and we didn’t solve some of the issues that we’re having on the floor.
“We need to do a better job of that going into the playoffs.”
Cooper’s 453 points on the season stands as a countrywide high heading into this week, while Jhony Verrone added 20 points and eight rebounds Saturday.
With a 16-4 record, Calgary has earned a bye before hosting a bestof-three conference quarter-final on Thursday in the Jack Simpson Gym.
It wasn’t the springboard into playoffs that Dinos women’s basketball was looking for, with the MacEwan Griffins winning 64-59 on Saturday.
That ended their regular season with an 11-9 record to finish ninth in the Canada West RPI standings, setting up this weekend’s bestof-three series to open the postseason against the Fraser Valley Cascades in Abbotsford, B.C.
Erin McIntosh led the way for Calgary with 15 points, while Kendall Lydon scored a game-high 25 for MacEwan.
“It’s been a season of ups and downs. Obviously, seven major injuries at one point was a major part of the story for this season. Even under those circumstances, we had some good wins,” Dinos assistant coach Matthew Spencer told canadawest.org. “Ultimately, we’ve put ourselves in a position where we’re in the playoffs. You hit the reset button, you take what you can from the regular season and move forward with what we expect is the healthiest lineup we’re going to get right now.
“We just need to defend the ball better and rebound the ball better. Those are two areas that have slipped recently.”
The Dinos celebrated outgoing centre Lauren Seabrook’s contributions over the past five years, as well as team manager Jenn Le. Notes: Dinos wrestling’s Conlan Foy was named Canada West male rookie of the year Saturday, as the Dinos men finished third at the Canada West championships in Saskatoon with 44 points, behind the home-side Huskies’ 46 and the University of Alberta Golden Bears’ 50. On the women’s side, the Dinos finished second with 32 points behind the Huskies’ 36. Temitope Ogunijmi finished first in the women’s 63-kilogram category, alongside 55-kilogram winner Cara Nania.