Prince George, BC – The UNBC Timberwolves lost a heartbreaker on Saturday night. The Regina Cougars managed to score a last minute play to put them up one with 6 seconds remaining. After leading for the entire fourth quarter the Timberwolves fell to the visiting Cougars 74-73. The Timberwolves move to 3-5, while the Cougars sit at 2-6.

Trailing by one with the clock running down, Jeremy Zver (Regina, SK) nabbed a rebound and chucked it three quarters of the court to Ryan Delwo (Regina, SK) running a fast break. Delwo finished an uncontested lay-up to give the Cougars a one point advantage with six seconds on the clock. Zver shot 70 percent from the field and recorded 18 points and seven rebounds in the Cougars win. Brandon Tull (Ajax, ON) finished with 20 points and Will Tallman (Regina, SK) added 16.

The Timberwolves were led for the second night by fourth year transfer Jeff Chu (Vancouver, BC). Chu was solid from the foul line, finishing with 14 points. Devin McMurtry (Surrey, BC) got his first start tonight and did not disappoint the fans. McMurtry added 13 points and five boards in 23 minutes, while big man Franck Olivier Kouagnia (Yaounde, CMR) chipped in 12 points and seven boards.

Regina got off to a slow start and the Timberwolves did not hesitate to capitalize on it. Shutting down the inside game forced the Cougars to shoot from the outside and the shots were not dropping. In the first quarter the Timberwolves outscored the Cougars 17-8, a lead the Cougars would continually chip away at for the rest of the game. Delwo was instrumental in knocking down the Timberwolves lead, the rookie guard netted six points in only four minutes of court time during the second quarter. At halftime the Cougars trailed the Timberwolves 33-25.

With six minutes to play in the third the Cougars took their first lead of the game on a 18 foot jumper from Tull. McMurtry answered for the Timberwolves with back-to-back baskets followed by a foul on a rebound which sent him to the line. McMurtry went 2/2 from the line added to a bunny hook on the next possession. In total McMurtry went on a 10-0 run for the Timberwolves putting them up 49-40 with just under three minutes left in the third. Tull pulled out a big basket with under a minute left to tie the game at 49 but the Timberwolves would sneak ahead before the end of the quarter. Heading into the final 10 minutes UNBC held onto a narrow 53-50 lead.

Each shot the players took during the final five minutes was a high pressure shot, with the largest gap being only eight points, every shot could tip the scale in either teams favour. At the six minute mark Jibreel Stevens (Tacoma, WA) stole the ball giving himself an easy lay-up and the Timberwolves their largest lead of the quarter, but twice in a row Zver worked inside the paint and was able to answer the Timberwolves baskets with one of his own.

Tallman threw down a monster block with three minutes to play sending Tull down the court, Tull drove to the hoop to bring the Cougars within one point of the Timberwolves. Again the Timberwolves would score and the Cougars would answer. With neither team forced to foul the Cougars were able to keep it close without giving away too many points. With the clock running down McMurtry pushed throw the defence and laid on off the glass to put the Timberwolves ahead 73-70 with 51 seconds on the clock. Again the Cougars answered, this time by Tallman who was just a step inside the arc for a long two-the Cougars trailed by one.

After a UNBC time out the Timberwolves tried to find an open shot but the Cougars defence locked down and wouldn't allow an easy basket. Zver snatched the defensive board and threw a baseball pass down the court to Delwo for an easy two points and the lead with only six seconds left in the game. The Timberwolves had one last chance after a time out but were unable to make the ball drop. The Cougars battled their way back from an early deficit to win 74-73 against the Timberwolves.

The UNBC Timberwolves will wrap up the first half of the season in Kelowna, BC next weekend with a double-header against the UBC Okanaga Heat. The Regina Cougars spend another weekend on the road, when the travel to Lethbridge, BC to take on the Pronghorns Friday and Saturday night.