The University of the Fraser Valley men's basketball team pushed the No. 9-ranked Saskatchewan Huskies to the limit on Saturday evening in Saskatoon, only for the offence to go ice-cold at the worst possible time.
 
The Cascades built a 44-37 lead at the half and were up 64-61 early in the fourth quarter, but endured a five-minute scoring drought midway through the final frame. The Huskies, meanwhile, were reeling off 11 points of their own during that stretch, and that surge powered the hosts to a 77-71 victory.
 
Saskatchewan improved to 3-1, while the Cascades are 1-3 through two weekends of Canada West regular-season play.
 
"In the fourth quarter, turnovers really cost us," UFV head coach Adam Friesen noted. "They upped the intensity, and we had a couple turnovers in a row that lost us the momentum and the lead. We also weren't able to hit a timely shot, which you need to do in a close game on the road."
 
The Huskies came roaring out of the gates, opening a 13-0 lead before the game was four minutes old. The run was highlighted by triples from JT Robinson and Chan De Ciman.
 
Fifth-year forward Mark Johnson helped the Cascades turn the tide. He drained a three-pointer to get UFV on the board, and went on to count three more treys among his 15 first-half points. The Cascades closed the gap to 24-17 at the end of the first quarter, and blitzed the hosts 27-13 in the second to take a seven-point edge into halftime.
 
UFV led for most of the third and into the fourth, holding a 64-61 advantage after Vick Toor knocked down a pair of free throws with 7:56 left in regulation.
 
Neither team was able to muster a point for the next three-and-a-half minutes, and it was the Huskies who finally broke through, as Robinson, De Ciman and Lawrence Moore connected on back-to-back-to-back triples. The Cascades, meanwhile, coughed up a trio of turnovers in quick succession, and Sask was able to fend them off from there.
 
While moral victories don't count in the standings, the fact the Cascades were in a position to win in the fourth quarter was indicative of a much better performance than the night before, when they fell 92-65 to the Huskies. Their defensive performance was particularly encouraging, as they limited Sask to 33.8 per cent shooting from the field.
 
"We have to understand what kind of energy and physicality needs to be brought to a game every night," Friesen said. "As a group, that's probably our biggest issue – being able to muster that type of intensity. Tonight we had it, and we gave Saskatchewan a really good game. We just have to find consistency with that."
 
Johnson had an outstanding performance for UFV, stuffing the stat sheet with 19 points, eight rebounds, five steals, four assists and a block. Toor brought a jolt of energy off the bench, scoring 16 points on 6-of-8 shooting to go with four assists, and Parm Bains and Sukhman Sandhu also scored in double figures with 11 and 10 points, respectively.
 
Moore's 21 points were a game-high for the Huskies, and Robinson scored 18.
 
The Cascades basketball teams are back in action at home next weekend, hosting the Alberta Golden Bears and Pandas in a Friday-Saturday set at the Envision Financial Athletic Centre.