Jefferson Hagen
MacEwan Athletics
-With files from Dinos Athletics
CALGARY – There were slam dunks, uncontested lay-ins, fast break layups and multiple three-pointers.
The Trinity Western Spartans snapped the ball around and scored in multiple ways, handing the MacEwan Griffins a 115-78 defeat in the opening round of the Canada West playoffs Thursday night at the University of Calgary.
Led by their dynamic backcourt duo Ja'Qualyn Gilbreath and Mason Bourcier – who both recorded triple-doubles – the Spartans put on an offensive clinic and gave the young Griffins a lesson in the level needed to be successful to challenge in the post-season.
With the result, the Spartans advance to play Calgary on Friday (8 p.m., Jack Simpson Gym, Canada West TV presented by Co-op), while the Griffins head into the off-season.
"We have work to do for next season getting bigger, stronger and more skilled," said MacEwan head coach Mike Connolly, whose young team was 0-16 in the regular season. "It's an important off-season for our young guys."
In an all-too-familiar refrain from the 2021-22 regular season, the Griffins were a tortoise off the starting line and their opponent was the hare. MacEwan looked tentative as Trinity Western went on a 28-2 run over a stretch of seven minutes and the game was effectively out of reach before it was 10 minutes old.
MacEwan rookie Job Janda looks for an opening against Trinity Western on Thursday (David Moll, Dinos Athletics).
"At the beginning, we were a little scared when they jumped on us, and we couldn't recover," said Connolly. "I thought we did some good things at the end, but again, we have had some terrible starts, and that is our biggest downfall all year.
"We aren't deep and we're young, and we are learning. I thought there were some good moments out there, we just need to keep working on our game."
Gilbreath led the Spartans with 19 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists, reaching the rare triple-double with 5:41 left in the fourth quarter, while Bourcier hit his even earlier (with 3:24 left in the third), finishing with 15 points, 13 assists and 11 rebounds.
"Their big two scored 30 of their 61 first-half points – they may be the best duo in the country," said Connolly. "Their best players were great."
Mason Hunter led the Griffins with 21 points, Colton Halbersma chipped in a career-high 19 and rookie post Damilola Osuma had 11 points and eight rebounds.
"We had some scoring moments, but couldn't get any runs on them," said Connolly. "Colton had another good scoring output and I thought Mason did a good job organizing and leading the young guys out there."
