Scheduled Game: Brandon - Bronze Medal - CW Final Four@UBC

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GAME RESULTS 1 2 3 4 T Trinity Western 21 18 26 17 82 « FINAL Brandon 12 19 15 25 71

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Game Recap

Men's Basketball (Canada West Final Four)
Saturday, February 28, 2009
TWU Spartans (82) vs. the Brandon University Bobcats (71)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SPARTANS EARN CW BRONZE
-wait out CIS wildcard selection process

VANCOUVER - The No. 10 Trinity Western University Spartans were able to hold off a late charge by the Brandon University Bobcats to finish third in Canada West with an 82-71 victory Saturday evening at War Memorial Gym.

"We had to end on a high note. We were tired, not as motivated to play this game. It did mean a lot, but there was still a lot of disappointment from last night. It hurt, but we couldn't ask for a better bounce back. We did it collectively. Everyone stepped up for the win," commented TWU men's basketball coach Scott Allen. "Well, we hope it's not over. Ending a season on a win is always a positive. Great leadership by Brian and Jamie with the way they played. They did an outstanding job. We did what we had to do. We ran against a hot team last night and I think we're still deserving of the Nationals. We're going to be hoping and praying for that opportunity."

Despite trailing by 19 points heading into the fourth quarter, the Bobcats managed to make a game of it, thanks in large part to Dany Charlery, who hit three straight three-pointers over the course of a minute midway through the fourth quarter. His third trey made the score 74-64 Spartans with 4:20 remaining in the game, and after Stevens Marcelin came up with a monster block on Brian Banman on the ensuing Trinity Western possession, Eric Holm managed to draw contact and get to the line for the Bobcats, hitting both free-throws to cut the deficit to just eight points. That was as close as they would come however, as Lance Verhoeff restored the double-digit lead on the next Spartans possession, and Banman hit a three-pointer to put his side up 13 and end any hopes of a Brandon comeback in the dying minutes.

Charlery finished with a game-high 35 points and also led his side with eight rebounds, but his big effort wasn't enough to overcome a slow start for the Bobcats on Saturday. Trinity Western began the game on an 11-0 run, holding Brandon off the board for more than four minutes to begin the game. They went on to outscore the Bobcats 21-12 in the opening frame. In the second quarter they came out with stifling defence once again, holding Brandon scoreless for the first 3:40.

Brandon bounced back later in the second quarter and were down just eight points heading into halftime, but a huge third quarter for the Spartans restored their comfortable lead, as they outscored the Bobcats 26-15 in the frame to make the score 65-56 heading into the fourth.

Jacob Doerksen (Abbotsford, B.C.) led the Spartans with 20 points and 12 rebounds while putting in a full 40 minutes of work. Jason Keegstra (Vernon, B.C.) put up 17 points and nine boards, while Banman finished with 16 points. The Bobcats struggled to find secondary scoring behind Charlery. Holm chipped in 11 points but their next highest scorer was Rejean Chabot who had ten points but shot just 3-for-15 from the field. Brandon had was 33.3% from the field as a team.

The loss ends Brandon's season, while the Spartans will need some good fortune if they want their season to continue, as they will have to hope for a wildcard berth into the CIS nationals. UBC and Calgary, who play later on Saturday for the conference title, have Canada West's two guaranteed spots in the national tournament, which begins on Friday, March 13 at Carleton University.

-TW-

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