The University of Fraser Valley Cascades knocked the Dogs out of playoff contention with a 92-76 win Sunday night.

The Huskies men’s basketball squad saw its postseason journey end early last weekend, despite finishing the regular season atop the Canada West Prairie Division.

The Huskies fell 92-76 in the deciding third game of their quarter-final playoff series against the University of Fraser Valley Cascades Feb. 24 at the PAC.

The Cascades, who finished the regular season fourth in the conference’s Pacific Division, will now advance to the Canada West Final Four at the University of British Columbia March 1 and 2.

“It’s unfortunate to see it end this way, because we thought we had the potential to go a little further,” Huskies head coach Barry Rawlyk said. “But they had guys step up and play and I give them full credit.”

Unlike the first two games of the series in which the squads battled closely and split wins, game three was uniquely one-sided. The Cascades jumped out to an early lead and dominated with laser-like precision shooting through the entire match. The Huskies could only come as close as tying it early in the first quarter, and never had a lead in the game.

Fraser Valley drained 60 per cent of their first-half field goals compared to the Huskies’ 43 per cent. UFV also out-rebounded the Dogs 20 to 13 in the first two quarters.

The big story was the Cascades’ three-point shots, though. UFV finished the game with 30 of their 92 points coming from beyond the arc. Klaus Figueredo had a team-high 22 points and shot an incredible 100 per cent. The point guard made six of six field goals and all four of his three-point attempts, and drained each of his six free throws.

Following the third game, many of the Huskies were visibly emotional about having their post-season cut short. While most will have a chance at redemption next year, forward Patrick Burns ended his five-year career with the green and white.

“It’s definitely a sour taste. No one ever wants to go out on a loss,” Burns said. “There always has to be some losers and unfortunately it was us today.”

Burns was fouled out of the game in the fourth quarter in what some fans thought were questionable calls by the referee.

“It’s the ref’s call but I don’t want to be out there playing passive,” said Burns, who had no regrets about the physical style of play that got him booted from his final university match.

The good news for the Huskies is that they only have one player graduating, and this season’s experience should help develop the team for a stronger 2012-13 campaign.

“We had some highlights and a lot of things to feel good about, and at other times we struggled a little bit,” Rawlyk said. “I think that’s kind of to be expected with a team that doesn’t have a lot of veterans… but lots of good things are to come next year.

“In the off-season there is a lot of work to do,” he added. “A lot of teams are going to come back with high expectations and we are one of those teams.”

Updated and expanded on Feb. 27, 2013 to include interviews.

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Photo: Calvin So