File Photo: Matt Hirji

Basketball Bears undefeated in home court wins with two to go

The Green and Gold are undefeated at home, and they’d like to keep it that way after a two game tip-off against the lowly Brandon Bobcats this weekend in the last regular season games of the year.

The hoop Bears are looking to build momentum for the impending post-season, and winning a pair of games this weekend at home to cap off a perfect home stand may be just the ticket.

“I think they’re very focused on that right now,” Bears head coach Greg Francis said. “They want to finish out strong and get ready for a championship run. These are special times. For our guys, we need to make sure that they lock in game to game right now. For me, our playoffs started last weekend, and we want to make sure that we are playing our best basketball right now.”

And the Golden Bears may just be peaking at the exact right moment. After a pair of defeats at the hands of their provincial rival Calgary Dinos two weeks ago, the Bears traveled to Regina last weekend and swept their two game series against the always-explosive Cougars. For Francis, the wins gave his team a thrust forward as they set their sights a potential championship trophy in March.

“We were very disappointed after losing to Calgary. But the team reacted really well and our games against Regina were actually the best of the year, not just in terms of getting two wins but also because of the energy we played with … That’s the way it should be,” Francis said.

Team co-captain Daniel Ferguson scored a combined 53 points in two games against Regina. But it wasn’t just his explosive scoring that helped the Green and Gold.

“I think it’s his leadership that’s most important,” Francis said. “Our guys really lock into that. The way he goes is usually how the rest of the team goes. When he’s being a leader, he’s playing better as well. I’m not surprised that he scored more this weekend because he was also being more vocal to get guys on the same page.”

Emotions will be running high this weekend as the hoop Bears’ five graduating seniors will play their last regular season home games while wearing the Green and Gold jersey. While the 7–11 Brandon Bobcats may not be the highest calibre opponent, Francis doesn’t want to leave anything to chance. To calm the squad’s nerves, Ferguson, who is amongst this years graduating class, will be called upon once again to lead his team once again to lead his team to glory.

“The difference between winning and losing is about who’s ready to make plays in late game situations, whose going to play as a unit,” Francis said. “You need leadership to foster that type of play.”

Francis will not only call on his graduating class to win a pair of games this weekend, but also to create lasting memories for themselves in their final games as a Golden Bear.

“We’re undefeated right now at home, and we’d love to cap off a perfect home stand in terms of conference play,” Francis said. “When you get to come into work and work around (our seniors),it’s just a great feeling. I just want them to have a great experience at the U of A and have these experiences propel them onto do great things in the future.”

Hoping to cap off a perfect home record in their final games of the regular season, the Golden Bears will do battle with the Brandon University Bobcats this Friday and Saturday. The ball will be tipped off at 8 p.m. both nights at the Saville Community Sports Centre.

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