Box Score  
Regina, SK – Saturday night in Regina, SK the UNBC Timberwolves men (6-6) dropped the back-half of their weekend double-header to the Regina Cougars (10-2). The final score favoured the Cougars by a 74-65 margin. Twin brothers Matt (28) and Nick (13) Barnard combined for 41 points for the hosts while Chris Ross (15) and Spencer Ledoux (15) answered with 30 points for UNBC. Josh Gillespie added his fifth double-double of the campaign for Todd Jordan's squad as he posted 11 points and 11 rebounds.
 
Five of the first seven UNBC points came from Gillespie. The Idaho product grabbed the game's first bucket, and then he notched the first triple of the night which moved his club back within three, facing a 10-7 deficit. Arinze Emeka-Anyakwo had a busy start to the night for Regina as he secured six of his team's first 12 points – all of which from came in the paint. Six minutes in, Regina held a 12-5 lead in rebounding. Twin brothers Nick and Matt Barnard then followed up with back-to-back threes for Regina giving them an 18-9 edge. Cade Mather then drilled a triple, giving Regina three straight makes from Downtown to start the night. Dylon Matthews (3), Evgeny Baukin and Justin Sunga all hit shots in the final two minutes, moving the score to within seven, but Jalen Edwards hit a buzzer-beating two for Regina giving them a 28-19 lead after one.
 
A strong response from UNBC as they outscored Regina 14-7 in the opening eight minutes and 19-13 overall in the second quarter. Spencer Ledoux and Chris Ross each had four points in that eight-minute span while Justin Sunga converted on a three, giving him three-straight makes to start the game. Matt Barnard responded for Regina with his second three, and sixth field-goal of the evening to restore the five-point lead for Regina. At the half, Barnard led all scorers with 15 points and added five rebounds. Spencer Ledoux though sparked a late surge for the TWolves by netting five points, including a buzzer-beating three, in the final 64 seconds, forcing his squad back to within three. The score read 41-38 for Regina at half. The TWolves, who only shot 10 total threes a night prior, fired 10 in the first half of Saturday's game, going four-for-10. Regina countered with a six-for-10 count from beyond the arc.
 
Spencer Ledoux started the third with another make for UNBC, and Evgeny Baukin later hit a pair of free throws which inched UNBC back to within one, but Matt Barnard responded with an 'And 1' giving him five early third quarter points, and 20 for the night. A layup and a successful free-throw from Chris Ross moved UNBC back to within three, but the Cougars stormed right back with a Kenyi Lodie triple to extend the lead to six. Todd Jordan's club stayed resilient. Darren Hunter and Spencer Ledoux notched buckets in back-to-back possessions and then Chris Ross hit a pair of free-throws to tie the score at 55-55. Then, with Regina leading by one, Will Keyes temporarily gave UNBC the lead when he grabbed an offensive rebound and tucked home his first two points of the night. But Matt Barnard responded with a layup in the final minute giving Regina the 58-57 lead, which is how the third quarter would end.
 
The first two minutes of the fourth yielded zero offense from either side as the two sides combined for five straight misses. But Matt Barnard's 11^th field-goal of the night moved Regina back up by three.  Spencer Ledoux and Matt Barnard then traded buckets, keeping Regina's lead at three at 62-59. Brother Nick Barnard pushed Regina's lead back up to five thanks to a pair of free-throws that came exactly four minutes into the fourth. Hayden Collier and Matt Barnard then rattled off back-to-back threes which pushed Regina's lead to 11, and a 12-2 run to start the fourth quarter for the Cougars. Josh Gillespie and Chris Ross teamed up to stop the run with a trio of buckets, moving the gap back to seven. Gillespie nabbed a pair of buckets in close, while Chris Ross grabbed his own rebound and converted, providing some late life for the TWolves. Unfortunately that's as close as they'd get on Saturday as the lone remaining points on the night came from Matt Barnard at the free-throw line.
 
The Regina Cougars held on to earn the 74-65 victory and the weekend sweep over the UNBC Timberwolves. Matt Barnard led all scorers Saturday with 28 points (11/15 FG) while his twin Nick had the next highest scoring totals for Regina with 13 points (3/7 3PT). Hayden Collier chipped in with 10 rebounds and eight points.
 
For UNBC both Spencer Ledoux and Chris Ross finished the night with 15 points apiece. Josh Gillespie added 11 points and 11 rebounds along with four steals for UNBC and in doing so earned Earls Road Warrior of the Game honours.
 
A major factor Saturday was the three-point shot. Regina finished the night nine-for-20 while UNBC went four-for-18. Both teams turned the ball over 20 times and Regina out-rebounded UNBC 50-38.
 
The TWolves will now fly back West and will set their sights on the UBC Thunderbirds who they'll host twice next weekend on Friday (6:00 pm) and Saturday (7:00 pm) at the Northern Sport Centre.