After pulling off the upset in game one, the Trinity Western Spartans could not complete the series win.
The Spartans men's basketball team lost their Canada West quarter-final series against the host Winnipeg Wesmen 2-1.
All three games were played at Winnipeg's Duckworth Centre.
TWU won game 1 86-78 on Feb. 22, but Winnipeg stayed alive with a 77-66 victory on Feb. 23. And in the winner-take-all game three the next afternoon, it was the Wesmen prevailing 101-76 to advance to the Canada West final four championships at UBC.
The difference proved largely to be shooting percentage as the Wesmen shot a whopping 64.5 per cent from the field while TWU shot 41.8 per cent. Included in that for Winnipeg was going 16-for-27 from beyond the three-point arc.
鈥淚t was a disappointing way to the end the season,鈥� said Spartans coach Scott Allen.
鈥淚 thought we played well enough offensively to win the game, but defensively it鈥檚 tough when teams shoot 65 per cent on you. Winnipeg did a great job offensively and we couldn鈥檛 rise to that intensity. We鈥檒l learn from this, move forward and look towards a promising future.鈥�
Justin Bakuteka led the Spartans in scoring, with 19 points, including five 3-pointers. Fifth-year guard Tristan Smith, who has now played his final game as a Spartan, had 17 points, six assists and three 3-pointers. Tonner Jackson and Mark Perrin had 11 points apiece.
The Spartans, who earned a 12-10 regular season record, finished the year with an overall mark of 13-12 in Canada West play, including playoffs. It鈥檚 the second year in a row the Spartans have lost in the quarter-finals. They were swept on the road against Saskatchewan last year.
