The Trinity Western Spartans men’s basketball team was eliminated from the Canada West playoffs after losing 2-0 in their best-of-three series against the host Saskatchewan Huskies.
The Huskies won 98-83 on Friday and 111-97 on Saturday. Both games were at the Physical Activity Centre in Saskatoon.
Saskatchewan was ranked third in the country while the Spartans were unranked.
“It was a valiant effort from the guys,” said Spartans coach Scott Allen.
“They battled hard. We got into the kind of game we wanted with a high-scoring shootout, but in the end, they wore us out with all of their second chance points and offensive rebounds.
“I’m proud of the guys; they could have quit, but they kept fighting and believing in each other.”
In the second game, the Spartans led by six points midway through the third quarter, but the Huskies closed the quarter on a 21-10 run and never looked back.
Trinity Western got as close as within five points in the fourth.
Tristan Smith led the Spartans with 25 points while Calvin Westbrook had 23 and Kyle Coston added 22 points. Kurtis Osborne chipped in with 10 points.
For Saskatchewan, Jamelle Barrett was unstoppable as he scored 41 points. He had 36 points in game one as well.
In that game, the Spartans hung tough, trailing by just four points after three quarters. But in the fourth, the Huskies outscored Trinity Western 30-19.
“We played well for three quarters but then fatigue and mental breakdowns became part of the game in the fourth quarter,” Allen said.
“They got a couple of back-breaking runs on us and that was the difference.”
Coston led the visitors with 25 points and Sean Peter had 16.
