VANCOUVER - The Calgary Dinos relied on some late game dramatics to edge the UBC Thunderbirds 81-79 in a Canada West thriller at War Memorial Gym on Friday night.
 
"For a good amount of the fourth quarter, I thought we allowed ourselves to get beat up physically by them," Calgary coach Dan Vanhooren said after the game. "We kind of lost our composure for a bit, I got to give it to the guys who hit some shots."


 
The final minute was an intense one, a three from Max Eisele cut the 'Birds lead to one. Then it was a block by Brett Layton which lead to a Noah Wharton and-1, to put the Dinos up two, sealing the win for the visitors in their regular season opener.
 

?? MBBALL | After the first quarter @DinosMBB leads @ubctbirds 23-19. #GoBirdsGo pic.twitter.com/qUfLheBqbC

— UBC Thunderbirds / @UBCTBirds (@ubctbirds) November 9, 2019

 The Dinos were led offensively by Mason Foreman and Simon Kutzschmar who scored 15 points each. Noah Wharton also chipped in 13 points which included the all-important game winner. For the T-Birds, Jadon Cohee led the way with 17 points and eight assists. Manroop Clair and Grant Audu chipped in with 16 and 15 points, respectively. Audu was aided by shooting a perfect 3-for-3 from behind the arc. 
 
The visiting Dinos jumped out to a blistering start, out-scoring the 'Birds 13-4 in the opening five minutes of play. Thanks to Cohee, who scored 11 points in the opening frame, the T-Birds were able cut into that deficit, trailing just 23-19 at the end of the opening 12 minutes.
 

?? MBBALL | Halftime score reads 44-38 with @DinosMBB leading @ubctbirds #GoBirdsGo pic.twitter.com/2SjTovzxtG

— UBC Thunderbirds / @UBCTBirds (@ubctbirds) November 9, 2019

The Dinos opened the second quarter on a 14-4 run. From there, it was the 'Birds turn. Three-pointers from Audu and Zack Moore capped off a 14-2 run for the T-Birds who found themselves back in the game, trailing 44-38 at the half.
 
The T-Birds started the third on a 9-to-4 run cutting the deficit to two. Clair lead the way for the 'Birds hitting a couple of three-pointers. Wharton who hit a three of his own also chipped in with a couple assists for the Dinos found themselves up five heading into the final 12 minutes.
 
The T-Birds took their first lead of the game following a Brian Wallack three that was immediately followed up by a three from Cohee forcing the Dinos to call a timeout down four.
 

?? MBBALL | It was a tight battle but @DinosMBB edge @ubctbirds 81-79 in the @CanadaWest home opener. Rematch tomorrow at 7pm at War Memorial Gym. #GoBirdsGo pic.twitter.com/eT6T9aqyJz

— UBC Thunderbirds / @UBCTBirds (@ubctbirds) November 9, 2019

From there, UBC would gain control while energizing the crowd thanks to a couple more three pointers and topped off by a Grant Shephard put-back dunk that had War Memorial Gym rocking.
 
In the end it wasn't to be for the T-Birds as the Dinos battled back in a compelling contest to secure the last-second victory while spoiling the 'Birds home opener.
 
The weekend series continues Saturday night with tip-off set for 7 p.m. PST.