Written by: Ben Matchett, Sport Information Director, University of Calgary Dinos

CALGARY – The Manitoba Bisons (4-15) have pulled off some major upsets this season – the Alberta Golden Bears and the then-No. 2 Acadia Axemen come to mind – but don’t add the No. 3 Calgary Dinos to that list.

The Dinos (16-3) extended their home court dominance to a perfect 11-0 on the year, clinching the Central Division pennant and a first round playoff bye with a 101-77 victory over the Bisons Friday night in the Jack Simpson Gym.

For Calgary coach Dan Vanhooren, the division title is the realization of a pre-season objective set out by the team.

“It’s always good to achieve the goals you set at the beginning of the year, and with Ross (Bekkering) out of the lineup we were able to show some of our depth,” he said. “Today was a much better effort than we had last weekend. Going into the playoffs and going through the roster now we have three games to work on some things and tune up.”

The younger Bekkering (3rd year, Taber, AB) sat out his second consecutive game as he tries to heal a nagging ankle injury. Though the leading rebounder in Canada West was missed on the floor, Robbie Sihota (3rd, Calgary) picked up the slack for the Dinos.

Sihota bounced back from a couple of sub-par performances to earn the night’s only double-double with 18 points and 13 rebounds, despite shooting only 3-for-11 from the field.

“He’s a capable offensive player, and he didn’t get in foul trouble early, which makes a big difference,” Vanhooren said. “He played smarter defensively tonight so he could stay in the game and find his rhythm on offence. In other games, he was getting two fouls early and sitting down, so that made the difference tonight.”

The Bisons kept it tight for much of the opening quarter, and Calgary’s first nine points came from beyond the arc as the Dinos struggled to pound the ball inside. As the quarter wore on, the Dinos slowly began to work their inside game and pulled away from the Bisons, and a late deuce from Henry Bekkering (4th, Taber, AB) made the margin 22-17 after 10 minutes.

The Dinos quietly began to extend the lead in the second quarter, making it a 15-point cushion at halftime. Manitoba simply couldn’t match Calgary’s inside game, leading to the 24-point victory for the Dinos.

Isaac Ansah (4th, Winnipeg) paced the visitors offensively with 23 points on the night, while Brian Crowe (5th, Victoria) chipped in 13 and Joel Pankewich (2nd, Thunder Bay, ON) added 10. Junior forward Sean Landry, a Calgary native, led the Bisons with 10 rebounds.

Henry Bekkering led the way for Calgary with 22 points, while point guard Jeff Price (3rd, Calgary) posted a quiet 18 points to go with nine assists and six rebounds, earning player of the game honours. The starting five accounted for 83 of Calgary’s points, with Tyler Fidler (1st, Calgary) posting 14 and Cody Darrah (5th, Edmonton) 11 in addition to Sihota’s 18.

With the division title sewn up, Vanhooren and the Dinos still have much to play for – including a perfect 12-0 home record.

“I’d like to see us power through the next three games and do what we’re capable of,” he said. “Tomorrow night is seniors’ night and it’s going to be important for us to come out and win it for those two guys. And to go undefeated at home would really be something special.”

Fifth-year seniors Cody Darrah and Jeremy Odland (Calgary) will be recognized prior to Saturday night’s game against the Winnipeg Wesmen, who lost a tough 83-79 decision at Lethbridge Friday. The Bisons, meanwhile, head to Lethbridge for a battle between two teams destined to miss the playoffs.

Calgary will host the best-of-three Central Division Final Feb. 22-24, where they will play the winner of the Alberta/Saskatchewan semi-final. Game times and ticket information to be announced.