Box Score Cougars get past Griffins on home court
Max Campbell, Mount Royal Cougars Sports Information
CALGARY, AB – An entertaining outing from the Mount Royal Cougars men's basketball squad resulted in an 83-74 triumph over the MacEwan Griffins at Kenyon Court on Friday night. Four Cougars scored in double figures including Brett Layton, who also snatched 10 rebounds for his seventh double-double on the season.
In the first quarter, a Glen Yang crossover dribble allowed the second-year guard to sidestep his defender and get to the basket for a sudden score, and an early 12-3 advantage for the Cougars forced an early timeout by the MacEwan coaching staff. Limiting their opponents to a mere 10 points in the opening quarter, Mount Royal appeared in control from the onset, as the Cougars registered 11 points off nine Griffin turnovers.
The outstretched arms of Layton enabled the rookie standout to bring down a loose ball and convert from in close during the middle stages of the second for a 29-18 lead. Up by nine points heading into the half, Mount Royal shot 43.3% from the field during the opening 20 minutes and recorded 11 steals compared to a mere four takeaways from MacEwan.
Energizing the Cougar faithful in the third was Neil Phillip with a one-handed breakaway slam-dunk before Yang and Ray Goff finished off a slick pick-and-roll. However, after scoring 24 points in the quarter, the Griffins pulled within six heading into the final frame.
MacEwan would manage to claim the lead with less than five minutes left on the clock, but
Derek Wolf soon responded by sinking a three-pointer from the corner, as Mount Royal never looked back from there.
The victory snapped Mount Royal's two-game losing streak after back-to-back losses to the Thompson Rivers Wolfpack. Now sitting at 6-9 in the standings, the Cougars remain in the hunt for a much-anticipated playoff appearance. Meanwhile, MacEwan now sports an identical record to the Cougars through 15 games.
Tomorrow night's rematch is set for 7:00 pm as the home side will set out to sweep the weekend series.
