Box Score
CALGARY, AB – The Mount Royal University Cougars men's basketball team pulled off a clutch 90-84 win over the star-studded University of Alberta Golden Bears Friday night at Kenyon Court. 

The Golden Bears started out hot, leading 18-5 after five minutes. Alberta star forward Adam Paige dominated offensively and finished the first quarter with 15 points. The away team led by as many as 15 in the first half

In the second quarter, the Cougars clawed back. 2022-23 Canada West All-Rookie Team member Ijah Nelson led the Cougars as they came back, registering 11 points in the first half. After being down by a significant margin early, Mount Royal closed the gap to just one point and finished the half down 41-40 to an extremely talented Golden Bears roster.

The tenacious Cougars continued to carry the momentum into the third quarter. Their versatile lineup spaced out the floor and was proving to be too much for the Golden Bears' defence. 

Keivonte Watts was unstoppable for the Cougars on both ends of the courts, occasionally taking on the tough assignment of guarding Adam Paige. Watts also led the way on offence, highlighted by a rim-rocking dunk in the third quarter that brought the fans at Kenyon to their feet. The MRU guard finished 

Rookie big man Killian Yopa showed flashes of brilliance in his MRU home debut, going at it in the paint and stretching the defence with his deep shooting range.

With one minute left in the fourth quarter, Ijah Nelson powered through to score and drew a foul to give MRU a nine-point lead in crunch time. Nelson, named Cougars player of the game, finished with a team-best 18 points with a 53.3 field goal percentage.

In one of the Cougars' final defensive possessions, Daniel Mulder stepped up to stuff Alberta guard Max Russell's jumper from the elbow to seal the emphatic win for Mount Royal. 

Alberta will look for redemption against MRU on Saturday night at Kenyon Court. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. and tickets can be purchased online.