The Concordia Stingers lost 76-67 to the Calgary Dinos in the opening round of the CIS Final 8 basketball championship at Scotiabank Place in Ottawa on Friday afternoon.
After running up a 23-14 lead in the first quarter, the Stingers began to struggle with the Dinos’ size. Calgary evened the game at 32 by halftime.
The third quarter was more of the same with the Dinos slamming in baskets and forcing Stinger turnovers. Calgary outscored Concordia 26-10 in the third frame.
Concordia came back in the final 10 minutes, pulling within four points with just over four minutes left. However, the Dinos shut down the Stingers the rest of the way, sealing a Calgary victory.
Ross Bekkering was the leading scorer in the game with 26 points. He also hauled in 15 rebounds. His Dino teammate Henry Bekkering had 25 points.
The top scorer for the Stingers was fifth-year forward Dwayne Buckley with 19 points. Evens Laroche, a rookie forward, chipped in with 16 points.
The Stingers are relegated to the consolation side of the tournament. They meet the Dalhousie Tigers at 12:30 p.m. Saturday.
