Friday night in Regina, the UNBC Timberwolves men (6-5) fell 77-54 to the Regina Cougars (9-2). Lodie Kenyi paced the home side with 16 points, six rebounds and a pair of assists while Jalen Edwards and Nick Barnard each added 12 points and a pair of triples. Spencer Ledoux responded with a team-best 16 points for UNBC while Chris Ross secured a team-leading seven rebounds.
Six of the first eight points of the night for UNBC came from the veteran Spencer Ledoux who helped stake Todd Jordan’s club to an 8-4 lead. But with the score tied 10-10, the hosts went on a 7-0 run of their own to create a 17-10 advantage. Five of those seven points came from Jalen Edwards who hit from two and from three. With time winding down in the first, Josh Gillespie hit a pair of free throws and Chris Ross then drilled a three to move UNBC back to within two, which is how the first quarter would end (17-15). UNBC out-rebounded Regina 11-9 in the first but turned the ball over four times while Regina only turned it over once.
Will Keyes came off the bench and supplied three early points, forcing a 20-20 tie. Then with the score 25-20 for Regina, Chris Ross cut to the rim, missed his first attempt, but successfully converted on his own rebound while earning an ‘And 1’ attempt, keeping UNBC within two. Asher Noah and Nick Barnard hit back-to-back triples for Regina which moved a 27-27 tie to a 33-27 Regina lead. Coming into the evening, Regina led Canada West with the fewest points-per-game allowed, and it showed. They held UNBC to just two points in the final three minutes, and rode a 12-4 run to end the quarter which put them ahead 39-31.
The hosts continued their stingy defense to start the third as they outscored UNBC 15-8 through the opening seven minutes and 24-10 outright. Lodi Kenyi supplied eight of those initial 15 points for Regina, three of which came from beyond the arc. Nick Barnard added a pair of triples to help stake the Cougars to their 63-41 lead through three. Spencer Ledoux led UNBC with four points in the third quarter.
The fourth quarter provided Todd Jordan an opportunity to rest some of his regulars. Dylon Matthews, Drew Williams, Chris Ainsley and Cameron Lalli all entered the game and played a good chunk of the fourth quarter. Matthews and Williams both found the scoresheet and the TWolves were outscored by a slim 14-13 margin to wrap the game.
When the final horn sounded, the final score read 77-54 for Regina who forced 20 UNBC turnovers on the night and shot 30-for-74 (40.5 percent) from the field. The TWolves only shot 10 total three-pointers Friday and ended the night with a 33.3 percent shooting percentage (22-for-66). 54 points stands as a season low for UNBC.
Spencer Ledoux’s 16 points and five rebounds were enough to grant him the Earls Road Warrior of the Game honour for the TWolves Friday.