Darrell Davis
Regina Leader-Post
The University of Regina Cougars started their men’s basketball season in Mexico’s unbearable heat and are trying to extend it in Saskatchewan’s unbearable cold.
“The gym we played at was indoors, but outdoors, open-air,” said Cougars head coach Steve Burrows, recalling the preseason trip his team made to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, for a game against a Mexican pro team and a tournament featuring Regina, Calgary, Queen’s and Victoria. “I’d love to say ‘hot’ was the right word but it was way hotter than that.
“We got to enjoy the weather, enjoy the beach — these guys (players) more than me — but it was a good experience. We came back with the same number I left with.”
With a remade roster following the graduation of twin brothers Nick and Matt Barnard, the Cougars started this campaign sluggishly after their Mexican team-building trip but have clawed their way into seventh place in the Prairie Division standings with a 6-12 record.
“The basketball was awesome and we were playing some really good teams,” said second-year guard Zachary Hillis. “It was a great experience and who would have thought I’d get to go to Mexico for basketball trips?
“Lots of tacos by the beach, hanging out, getting to know each other, spending time by the pool then logging in for the games and walking around the town at night. We saw lots of (Saskatchewan Roughrider) hats and Rider T-shirts down there. It was the weirdest thing. I hope we can get back there next year!”
Staying in seventh place would give the Cougars a Canada West playoff berth, but in their final regular-season series this upcoming weekend they will need to defeat the top-seeded University of Calgary Dinos at least once to earn a qualifying spot Feb. 21 in the 12-team conference playoffs. Canada West comprises a 10-team Prairie Division and seven-team Pacific Division.
Game times are 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday at the Centre for Kinesiology, Health and Sport.
They follow a pair of Calgary-Regina women’s games slated for 6 p.m. each night. The Cougars have clinched seventh in the women’s basketball playoffs and will travel to Vancouver for a play-in game Feb. 21 against the 10th-place team.
With temperatures dropping to minus-30 C outdoors throughout the province this past weekend, Regina got swept during a home-and-home set against the University of Saskatchewan Huskies. One victory would have clinched a postseason berth for the men’s squad.
Playing Friday inside CKHS, where there was a ceremony feting the University of Regina Rams football team for its Hardy Cup victory and the university’s curling teams — skipped respectively by Chloe Johnston and Josh Bryden — for winning the women’s and men’s conference championships, the men’s squad lost 69-64. Saskatchewan beat Regina 78-72 on Saturday in Saskatoon.
“There’s a different team dynamic this year,” said Hillis, who led the Cougars with 19 points Friday. “We figured we’d be hitting our stride by now but every game it seems like we have one quarter that’s our Achilles heel. And it’s usually the third quarter.
“There have been a lot of guys stepping into new roles. Even me. Last year I wasn’t getting a ton of minutes and this year I was stepping into a bigger role. We’ve been getting used to playing with each other. That starts off the court, just being comfortable with each other and being friends off the court.”
The Cougars have been beset by injuries that often left them with just “eight or nine” players during the season, Burrows said.
“I’m not making excuses,” said Burrows. “It’s part of what we do. We deal with it. We can feel sorry for ourselves or we can get ourselves ready to go tomorrow.”
