Canadian CIS opening weekend

The Canadian CIS League opened for the 2014/2015 season this weekend with ten games on Friday and Saturday with the remainder of the round to conclude midweek. The ten games saw the first five contests repeated through Saturday when only one of the results reversed.

Trinity Western vs. Manitoba
Manitoba collected a comfortable 56-84 victory in Trinity Western’s own backyard. The visitors paced to a 12-18 lead in the first, before getting tight in defence during a 9-19 second quarter run, the score at halftime read 21-37. Manitoba were explosive in the third quarter, winning the period 11-24 to all but claim the win. Trinity scraped to a 24-23 fourth quarter streak but had no lasting answers and lost the game.

On Saturday the teams clashed again and Manitoba collected an even more emphatic victory by gunning down Trinity 78-96. A 12-22 opening period gave Manitoba an early double digit lead and they never looked back, packing through the second 22-24 for a 34-46 lead at halftime. In the third quarter the visitors extended with a 20-29 streak and cruised through the final 10 minutes.

Calgary vs. Winnipeg
Calgary opened the Canadian CIS with a 77-64 win over visiting Winnipeg. The hosts didn’t lose a frame as they snatched the first quarter 18-13 and extended through a 19-17 second stanza (37-30 at halftime). Winnipeg improved to tie the third period 18 apiece, but the hosts had too much in the final stint and romped to victory down the stretch.

Calgary made it two from two against Winnipeg with an 87-82 win on Saturday. The hosts dominated the opening half hour, winning the first quarter 21-15, the second 22-15, and the third 20-13 for a commanding 63-43 lead through three quarters. Winnipeg had the hottest quarter of the Canadian CIS round 1 with a 24-39 streak, making it interesting down the stretch, but in the end Calgary held on to win.

Lethbridge vs. Brandon
A tight game between Lethbridge and Brandon went to the wire, but the home team managed to come away with an 85-82 win. The hosts managed to carve a slender lead in the first quarter, emerging from the opening 10 minutes with a one point lead at 21-20. Brandon took emphatic action to ease through Q2 22-29, enough for a 43-49 lead at the long break. Lethbridge retook the initiative with a 25-18 run in the third frame and extended down a narrow fourth quarter to win.

Saturday’s encounter saw Lethbridge build on the first win with a crushing 84-66 win over Brandon. A 16-12 score after ten minutes gave the hosts an early advantage, but Brandon tied proceedings at 39-39 after a winning second. A narrow third frame saw Lethbridge take a three point cushion into the final stint (57-54) before the ended the game in style with a huge 27-12 run through the final term.

Saskatchewan vs. Alberta
It was a home win for Saskatchewan on the opening day of the Canadian CIS as they overcame Alberta 72-60. The teams were locked at 30-30 at the midway buzzers after the hosts won the first quarter 19-15 and Alberta responded with an 11-15 run in the second. Saskatchewan took control of the hardwood in the third stanza, winning it 24-15 to lead 54-45 at the final split. There was no way back for the visitors as Alberta conceded the game in Q4.

Alberta reversed Friday’s loss by defeating Saskatchewan 63-77 on the road. The hosts looked to have took momentum from game 1 with a 19-14 first quarter. Alberta got into the game in the second quarter to make it 30-32 after 20 minutes, thanks to a solid 11-18 run in Q2. A tied 19-19 third quarter made it anyone’s game in the fourth quarter, but the visitors had a massive 14-26 final run that made it comfortable.

Regina vs. Victoria
Victoria picked up the second road win of Friday by overcoming 63-72 win over Regina. The victory was built on a strong first half where the visitors won the first quarter 14-17 and the second frame 9-15 to lead 23-32 at halftime. Regina made some headway in the third, winning the stint 18-17 to cut the deficit to 41-49 through thirty minutes. Down the straight Victoria returned the nine point cushion and held it through the quarter to victory.

Victoria had a second success over Regina in two days by taking out the hosts 63-78. Victoria took early control with a 20-25 winning opening quarter, while they took command of the game with a stunning 10-17 score line in the second period (30-42 at the midway buzzer). Regina came out for the second half in better shape and won the third stanza 24-14 to make it 54-56 through 30 minutes. Victoria got back in track by pouring in 22 point and holding Regina to just 9 in a game winning fourth frame.