EDMONTON - Fifth-year guard Lars Ishimwe had a game-high 21 points to lead the Alberta Golden Bears in a season-opening victory against the Saskatchewan Huskies Friday evening at the Saville Centre.

He was flanked by fellow fifth-year Adam Paige who added 18 of his own including 11 in the fourth quarter to help quell a Huskies comeback bid. The Huskies saw a good performance out of guard Fisayo Moibi who had a team-high 15 points and hit three triples.

It is the Bears eighth straight win over the Huskies, who made their first trip to Edmonton since the 2022 U SPORTS Final Eight.

It was a tight first half, with Alberta entering the half with a slim 40-37 margin. Both teams impressed offensively, hitting 10 cumulative threes with Alberta's Brandon Meiklejohn leading all scorers with 14 at the break.

Alberta started to pull away in the third thanks to the play of second-year guard Logan Powell and Ishimwe who led the hosts to a 62-48 advantage heading into the final frame.

Saskatchewan would try to emulate what happened in the women's game earlier, where the Huskies ripped off a 20-3 fourth quarter to beat the Pandas by three, and for a minute it was looking similar. Saskatchewan guard Chan De Ciman would provide a spark to a struggling second-half offence to eventually trim the home lead to just five with four minutes remaining. However, the fifth-year Paige would score on three straight possessions, including a dagger three with a minute left, to settle the waters for a 86-72 Alberta victory.

The teams battle again tomorrow to finish up their first series of the Canada West season.