WINNIPEG – The No. 11 seeded UFV Cascades offered up the first upset of the 2024 Canada West Playoff Tournament at IGAC, knocking off the No. 6 seed Regina Cougars 74-62 thanks to a 25-13 run in the final ten minutes. It was sweet revenge, following a sweep by Regina in the regular season. 
 
Down by three entering the fourth, the Cascades made three early triples and played stellar defence in the closing stages, en route to a 70-59 victory. They will now face the No. 3 seed Winnipeg Wesmen at 6 pm CT tomorrow. 
 
In a gritty defensive battle that featured plenty of man concepts and 14 blocks – 11 from Regina – it was the lower seed who were able to make key plays when it counted. 
 
The Cascades were led by senior guard Dylan Kinley, who recorded the third double-double of his career, with 20 points and ten rebounds. 
 
"After halftime, it was about pushing the pace. We play best when we have our tempo going," said Kinley. 
 
"The second half we cleaned up the glass and it helped lead to our offence."
 
Regina got 16 points, nine rebounds and six blocks from Hayden Collier, while Matt Barnard had four points, four rebounds and four steals. 
 
"The last ten minutes, we gave out in our legs and they were still going hard," said Barnard. 
 
"We weren't quick enough to the ball. They hit open threes, but we gave them open threes. We didn't close fast enough."
 
Much like their two regular season contests, the first half was a back and forth battle with plenty of emphatic defensive plays, along with 46 total rebounds. 
 
A Dario Lopez layup following high-point rebounds from Clay Kurtz and Jake Willemsen gave UFV an early second quarter lead, at 20-18, but the Cougars stormed back. 
 
Back to back triples from Jalen Edwards and Cade Mather, and a Hayden Collier triple opened up a seven-point lead for Regina. Matt Barnard and Edwards also recorded blocks (four overall for Regina in the first half), with the latter being a particularly impressive on-one-one swat against Willemsen in transition. 
 
The Cascades pushed back, closing the deficit to three at halftime at 35-32, and they opened the third with an emphatic slam and dunk combo courtesy of Matias Klim and Ismael Hernandez to take the lead. 
 
Blocks from Nick Barnard, Matt Barnard and Collier – two of which occurred in consecutive possessions – thrilled the crowd at IGAC as the third quarter progressed. The Cougars entered the fourth with a 52-49 lead, after the Cascades cut things to one score thanks to an off-balance Hans Befus shot in the final minute. 
 
The final ten was dictated by UFV, who went on an early 6-0 run, taking a 60-55 lead on a Jake Willemsen triple. 
 
He finished with nine points, three steals and four rebounds, while Kinley added a steal and bucket right after, as the Cascades crashed the glass hard in the final ten – finished with 44 rebounds overall – en route to the win. 
 
"The last two years, I hadn't won a playoff game. That one I took on my chest," said Kinley. 
 
"It means a lot to me. It's all love. We bleed green. It's one big step going forwards. All my guys are youngings and they're excited to fight."
 
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