MBB: Heart-stopping action sends four teams home in first round
Here's your full Round One recap
LETHBRIDGE - You might mistake the 1st Choice Savings Centre in Lethbridge for the MGM Grand, as teams in the first slots of the bracket exchanged heavy-weight jabs in thrilling action that went down to each bell.
The University of Lethbridge hosted three games of the first round while the University of Calgary was the site for the fourth.
UNBC vs BDN: In the first match of the night in Lethbridge, the lower-ranked Northern British Columbia gave Brandon all they could handle before the Bobcats could take the knock-out punch. UNBC battled through the Bobcats' dominance on the offensive glass, making the game close to the bitter end. With three minutes remaining, Brandon splashed a three to go up by two possessions. From there, the TWolves did everything they could to cut into the deficit, but the Cats were able to break the pressure and hold on for a thrilling 95-89 victory. Full recap here.
TRU vs MRU: Another thriller for the fans at 1st Choice Savings Centre saw the tournament's 15th seed Thompson Rivers loom larger than life. The WolfPack stood their ground to push the Mount Royal Cougars to the brink. They erased a 21-point deficit to pull within two by the fourth, thanks to some locked-in defence. As MRU battled back, the WolfPack kept it to a one-possession game late in the quarter, and had a chance to tie it but came up short in the final minutes. Full recap here.
UBCO vs MAN: The league's bottom-ranked seed, the UBCO Heat dispelled any notion that they didn't belong in playoff basketball Thursday with a remarkable upset over the Manitoba Bisons. The team wore the title "underdogs" proudly and overcame every obstacle hurled their way. They fought through injury to out-rebound and out-defend Manitoba en route to a 83-73 victory. Full recap here.
GMU vs TWU: The only blowout of the night belonged to the Spartans, who made a statement with a 115-78 first-round victory over the MacEwan Griffins at the University of Calgary. MacEwan opened the scoring and took an early 5-4 lead, before Trinity Western took control. The Spartans put up 46 by the start of the second quarter, but MacEwan started to chip away. The Spartans responded to close out the second quarter up by 32. From there, they didn’t look back to take the convincing victory. Full recap here.
Here's a look at the updated bracket:
You can purchase tickets for round two action in-person at the University of Lethbridge and the University of Calgary. Calgary also offers an online option here.
Or catch all the action on Canada West TV presented by Co-op.
For game times and results, visit the CW Playoff Page.