Denny McDonald’s three-point play — a basket and the foul —— helped the Trinity Western men’s basketball team upset the fifth-ranked Saskatchewan Huskies on Friday (Nov. 23) in Saskatoon.
The Spartans, who dropped a 87-75 decision to the fourth-ranked Alberta Golden Bears the night before in Edmonton, erased a 16-point halftime deficit to hand the Huskies (7-1) their first loss of the season, 75-73. Trinity Western improved to 4-4.
With his team down by a point, McDonald drove to the basket and finished off the glass, drawing a foul in the process with five seconds to play.
He sank the free throw and the Huskies long-range attempt at the buzzer bounced harmlessly off the rim.
“Finding a way to win was pretty impressive after being down by so much,” said Spartans coach Scott Allen.
“We had a great team effort from Justin (Bakuteka). He was a stable part of our offence and defence.
“(And) Robert (Rodriguez) was a force and he willed the team to win.
“I’m really proud of the guys tonight.”
Both players had 15 points.
The Huskies were up 21-16 after one quarter and 44-28 at the half.
The Spartans cut the lead to 11 after three quarters and then outscored Saskatchewan 28-15 in the fourth.
McDonald led a balanced scoring attack with 16 points while Jesse Jeffers and Anthony Ottley had 10 apiece.