Foul Trouble Puts Win out of Reach for U of A

Top Performers

U of A– Robert Dewar- 12 points, 4 rebounds, 4 steals

Kenneth Otieno- 10 points, 8 rebounds, 2 steals

U of S– Jamelle Barrett- 20 points, 7 rebounds, 5 steals

Nolan Brudehl- 15 points, 8 rebounds, 1 steal

 

EDMONTON, AB–The University of Alberta Golden Bears went head-to-head with defending CIS champions, University of Saskatchewan Huskies during their pre-season invitational tournament “Hoopfest.” From the moment the ball was tipped by Golden Bear sophomore Robert Dewar, the game turned fast-paced and physical. Every player was matched and competing with their opponent for every inch of floor space.

First to score was Saskatchewan’s Jamelle Barrett. A new addition to the team this year, Barrett joins the Huskies after playing for the Consumnes River College in California. The Sacramento native is no stranger to the score board. In fact, while playing for the River Hawks last season, Barrett registered four 30+ point games to his resume.

In the first quarter of the U of A game, Barrett did not back down from any chance to drive the lane. Despite being the shortest player on the floor, the 5’10 point guard would let no chance to attack the hoop go unchallenged. Attempts to stop the charging Barrett led U of A’s Daniel Ferguson to pick up three personal fouls, just five minutes into the game. By then end of the first quarter, the Bears were trailing 10-18.

The start to the second quarter doesn’t look promising when in state of confusion, the U of A sends six players onto the floor. However, after the Huskies made two technical foul shots, the Bears are ready to respond. U of A’s Jordan Baker brings up the intensity, and the rest of the team follows. Kenneth Otieno left his mark on the Huskies with his quick hands generating steals for easy fast break points.

By the end of the second quarter, the Golden Bears had made and impressive come back out-scoring the U of S 19-3. 

The next ten minutes of play remained tight as both teams were back and forth for scoring. Going into the fourth quarter, Golden Bears were leading by six when the team’s foul troubles began. First to go was U of A’s big man, Robert Dewar. He took his fifth foul at just over one minute into the fourth quarter. Daniel Ferguson saw only four more minutes of playing time before his last two fouls sent him to the bench. In his total nine minutes of playing time, Ferguson had managed to score nine points. With four and a half minutes left in the game, Jordan Baker was the third of U of A’s starting five to be fouled out.

Huskies Jamelle Barrett and Nolan Brudehl took advantage of the Golden Bears troubles lighting up the scoreboard to become the game’s high scorers with 20 points to Barrett and 15 for Brudehl. The duo’s unstoppable execution, combined with the Bear’s foul trouble, left U of A unable to climb back into the game.

When the buzzer sounded, the final score read 69-63 for the Saskatchewan Huskies.