Stephon Lamar helped the Huskies bring home a bronze medal by scoring 41 points at the CIS final four tournament.

The Huskies men’s basketball team will return from the Canada West final four tournament with bronze medals in tow. The Dogs lost to the University of Alberta Golden Bears in the semi-final but came back to beat the University of Fraser Valley Cascades in the bronze medal game.

The team earned a wildcard into the Canadian Interuniversity Sport final eight championship, which takes place from March 7-9 at Carleton University in Ottawa, ON.

The Huskies will face the number one seeded University of Ottawa Gee-Gees in the quarter-final. The Golden Bears and the University of Victoria Vikes, who finished first and second respectively in Canada West, also advanced to the tournament.

The number one seed and tournament hosts the Golden Bears downed the Huskies 83-65 on Feb. 28 to send the Dogs into the bronze medal game.

In the beginning the Huskies were able to keep pace with the Golden Bears, matching them shot for shot. The home team had a slight 16-14 lead after one quarter but by halftime the Dogs edged ahead 36-33.

When the teams came back to the floor the Golden Bears began to take control, chasing down the Huskies and ending the third quarter with a 58-51 lead. The Golden Bears pulled away in the final frame, outscoring the Dogs 25-14 to grab the win.

Dadrian Collins led the Huskies with 17 points. Stephon Lamar and Ben Baker each added another 15 and Matt Forbes chipped in 10 points and nine rebounds.

The Huskies defeated the Cascades in a close 79-70 battle on March 1 to capture the bronze medal.

The teams battled hard in the opening half and eventually the Cascades were able to pull ahead 35-33 heading into the break. The Dogs turned the ball over nine times in the opening half compared to only twice by the Cascades.

The Huskies cleaned up their game in the second half and fought their way to a 52-49 lead heading into the fourth. Free throws helped the Dogs cement their lead in the final frame. The Huskies went 12-14 from the line and outscored the Cascades 27-21 overall to claim the victory.

Lamar led the Huskies with 26 points, including five three-pointers. Forbes added another 13 points, while Baker scored 13 points and grabbed 11 off the boards.

Tip off is at 8 p.m. on March 7 in Ottawa, On.

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Photo: Jordan Dumba/Photo Editor