The Saskatchewan Huskies got out to an early lead and never looked back, defeating the University of the Fraser Valley men's basketball team 92-65 on Friday in Saskatoon.
 
The host Huskies, No. 9 in the U SPORTS national rankings, outscored the Cascades 27-8 in the first quarter and rolled from there. The UFV squad had a tough night offensively, hitting just 31.8 per cent from the field.
 
The Cascades (1-2) and Huskies (2-1) renew hostilities on Saturday evening (8 p.m. Central/7 p.m. Pacific, CanadaWest.tv).
 
Emmanuel Akintunde led the Huskies in scoring with 24 points while adding 11 rebounds to complete the double-double. JT Robinson chipped in 22 points, four rebounds and four assists in the win.
 
Parm Bains paced the Cascades with 17 points on 4-9 shooting from downtown. Sukhjot Bains added 15 points and four rebounds, and Vick Toor had 13 points, seven rebounds and five assists off the bench.
 
The Huskies started the game on fire and got out to a 16-0 lead – Robinson and Akintunde each hit from three-point range, and Chan De Ciman converted twice from beyond the arc. Sask would shoot 6-for-13 from distance in the opening frame, while the Cascades went just 1-for-9 themselves and shot just 17.6 per cent from the field overall.
 
UFV battled back with a strong second quarter, outscoring Saskatchewan 17-15 in the frame, but still entered halftime facing a 42-25 deficit.
 
The Huskies continued to pull away after the break, outscoring the Cascades 27-18 in the third, and they salted the game away with a 7-0 run in the fourth.
 
- with files from Matt Johnson, Huskie Athletics