Calgary, AB —  The Mount Royal University's men's basketball team battled it out against their cross-town rivals, The University of Calgary Dinos, at Kenyon Court on Friday night. This classic matchup drew a large turnout for spectators at Kenyon Court which made for a loud and exciting atmosphere for both teams. 

Dray Walburger started the game by putting up the Cougars on the scoreboard with a quick layup.Kuach Gajak and Walburger got the crowd roaring with energy after each of them made a three-pointer, pushing the Cougars up to 12-9. After an early timeout from the Dinos, Keivonte Watts skipped over a lob to Gajak for a two-hand flush. Daniels Baumanis tied up the score, 16-16, after making a jump shot three-pointer. As the first period came to an end, both teams were relentlessly defending one another while keeping the score within a close reach, 21-20 for the Dinos.

Dylan Lutes continued to make his presence known into the second period after picking up 11 points, a total of 17 points in the first half. Meanwhile, Watts put up 12 points and Gajak earned 10 points to conclude the scoring from the first half. The Dinos found themselves in foul territory at the four-minute mark, which sent the Cougars with trips to the charity stripe. However, the Dinos etched a 10-point lead to enter halftime. 


Returning from halftime, both Dinos and Cougars eased their way into well executed set-plays. With the help of Sam Barnie, his 3rd bucket of the night tied the game to 53-53. However, Nate Petrone and Aidan Smith immediately responded by putting up two three-pointers, 59-53 for the Dinos. Gajak made his second dunk on a fast break after Walburger generated the steal. Baumanis finished the third quarter by sinking a buzzer beater three, stretching the Dinos' lead to 73-64. At the end of the 3rd period, Petrone put up 15 points, a total of 22 points, which accounted for almost ? of the Dinos' 26 points in this period alone.

Entering the last period, the Cougars were only trailing by 9 points. MRU got off to a good start as Watts drained a three-point shot to cut the deficit down to 6 points. However, the Dinos went on a scoring run which pushed the Cougars' deficit to 19 points. Watts, Jean-Nelson Pigoue, and Ijah Nelson made two-point shots down the stretch but their efforts were too little too late. The Cougars took a heartbreaking 99-80.


Tonight's players of the game are Keivonte Watts and Nate Petrone. Watts scored 27 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, and 3 steals. Petrone earned 27 points, 6 rebounds, and 6 assists.

The Cougars will return to Kenyon Court in a rematch against the Dinos at 7 pm on Saturday, January 25.