CALGARY, AB – The Mount Royal Cougars men's basketball team was able to pick up a weekend split after defeating the UFV Cascades 72-70 at Kenyon Court on Saturday.

The two teams traded buckets in the early going, with UFV narrowly holding the lead after the first quarter.

In the second, the Cougars and Cascades continued to go shot for shot. The first half's biggest highlight came midway through the second quarter when UFV captain Ismael Hernandez threw down a thunderous two-hand slam over top of Keivonte Watts.

Fraser Valley led by three at the half. Shifty guard Dylan Kinley paved the way for the Cascades with 12 first-half points.

The Cougar backcourt of Holt Tomie and Keivointe Watts pushed Mount Royal to take the lead in the third. Watts finished Saturday's contrast with 21 points while Tomie filled the scoresheet with 13 points, nine rebounds and seven assists.

UFV's dynamic big man Dario Lopez excelled for his squad, finishing with 20 points and 11 rebounds. 

The fourth quarter started off with a big-time block from MRU's Daniel Owoeye. The Cougars forward closed out the Fraser Valley guard to emphatically swat the ball out of bounds.

Later in the quarter, Owoeye brought the energy up on the offensive end, finishing strong while drawing contact to get the hoop and the harm. 

Cougars forward Daniel Mulder slammed home a rim-rocking dunk to give MRU a 13-point lead with under four minutes remaining that prompted a UFV timeout.

Coming out of the time UFV got a big stop on the defensive end followed by a silky three-pointer from Ismael Hernandez. 

The Cascades continued to climb back, cutting the deficit to six points after Clay Kurtz got a steal in the paint and found the basket. A pair of Kinley free throws, and a layup from Lopez made it a two-point game, but with time expiring a last gasp three-pointer from Kinley struck the backboard and fell wide of the rim and the Cougars held on for the win. 

The win improves Mount Royal's record to 8-10 while UFV moves to 7-11.