The Saskatchewan Huskies booked their ticket to the Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) consolation final with a 90-79 victory over the Dalhousie Tigers.
The Huskies were the beneficiaries of a stellar performance by fourth-year guard Evan Ostertag who scored a team-high 32 points on 60 per cent shooting from the floor.
Dadrian Collins also chipped in with 21 points and fifth-year guard Ben Baker finished two assists shy of a triple-double with 10 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists.
Sven Stammberger was excellent in defeat for the Tigers as he scored a game-high 34 points, while making 13-16 shots from the field.
The difference in the game was the Huskies domination on the glass and bench scoring. Saskatchewan out-rebounded the fifth-seeded Tigers 48-25 and outscored Dalhousie’s bench 43-13.
Dalhousie led the eight-seeded Huskies 44-37 at half on the strength of 19 points from Stammberger and seven from third-year guard Jarred Reid.
The third quarter was a back and forth 10 minutes that saw the Huskies close the Atlantic University Sport (AUS) champions lead to six points, 71-65, going into the final frame.
Saskatchewan would blow the game open in the fourth quarter, outscoring the Tigers 23-8 in the final 10 minutes to secure the double-digit victory.
The Huskies await the winner of the other consolation round game between Bishop’s and Windsor to see who they will play in Saturday’s consolation final, which tips off at 2:00 p.m.
Pierce graduated from the Ryerson School of Journalism in 2015. @PierceOLeary