Canada West Quarter Final: Huskies sweep UFV

With a 41-point effort by CIS leading scorer Showron Glover, the University of Saskatchewan Huskies will move on to the Canada West Final Four after a two game sweep over the University of Fraser Valley Cascades in a Canada West Quarter-Final 99-90 win Friday night at the PAC in Saskatoon.

In both games in the best-of-three series, the Huskies overcame double digit deficits for the wins. In Game 2, the Cascades had an 11-point lead in the second quarter and in Game 1 the Huskies fought back to win 96-85 after being down by 18 at one point in the game.

It was the second time in 2009-10 that Glover scored more than 40 points in a game. In a 102-81 win over the Simon Fraser University Clan in January, the Fresno, California native scored 43 points. Glover also had six rebounds, six steals and three assists in the game.

The first basket in the game wasn't scored until two minutes in when Glover hit a three point shot from the top of the arc. Fraser Valley was able to quickly answer back on the next trip down the court. Throughout most of the first quarter, the teams traded points back and forth with the lead switching hands four times and it sitting at a tie four times. Tied at 13, Fraser Valley began to break away and led by six points at 22-16 by the end of the frame.

Fraser Valley extended the lead to 11 points at 27-16 before the Huskies were able to add to their score. Midway through the second quarter, fifth-year forward Clint Unsworth was able to tie the game on a foul shot after Glover brough the Huskies within one with another three-pointer. The Huskies took the lead for a short time but once again Fraser Valley pulled out ahead this time by nine at 43-34 with 1:28 left in the half. The Huskies played strong defense and the Cascades didn't find the basket again in the quarter allowing the Huskies to tie the game at 43 to end the first half.

The Huskies had a strong third quarter taking the lead and keeping it throughout. At one point, the lead was as large as nine points. Near the end of the third, Fraser Valley was able to hold the Huskies to 72 points and chipped the lead down to three to finish the quarter 72-69.

Although Fraser Valley tied the game early in the fourth quarter, the Huskeis quickly pulled away and never looked back. The lead was extended to as much as 13 points in the quarter and the Cascades just couldn't close the gap to force a Game 3 in the series.

Nolan Brudehl and Michael Linklater also pitched in with the Huskies scoring. Brudehl netted 21 points and snared eight rebounds. Linklater had 12 points. Troy Gottselig had a game-high 10 rebounds.

For the second straight night, Joel Friesen led the Cascades scoring 26 points. Zeon Gray with 19 and Kyle Grewal at 16 were also in double digits for Fraser Valley. Three Cascades all finished with five rounds apiece - Gray, Friesen and James Elliott.

The Canada West Final Four is scheduled to begin March 5. It will be hosted by the highest ranked winner of the quarter-final series.

Game Notes: The win gives the Huskies a 22-9 overall record and a 14-2 overall record at the PAC. It is the most wins all-time in a season at home.