EDMONTON - The Regina Cougars fended off a heroic comeback effort from the Alberta Golden Bears, managing to squeak out a 72-68 road win on Saturday night. 

Trailing by as many as 15 early in the fourth quarter, the Golden Bears went ballistic to open the final frame, clawing back to level the game at 66's. However a pair of shooting fouls, followed by four makes from Regina in the final minute, saw them salvage the four-point win. 

The loss snaps the Bears five-game conference win streak, and drops them to 10-6. The win for Regina avenges their 85-68 loss on Friday night. With five wins in their last six games, Regina remains atop Canada West with a 13-3 record. 

Matt Barnard, who led Regina with 22 points, gave Regina a 68-66 lead with a layup with 21 seconds left, a lead they never relinquished. Barnard added a team-high seven rebounds, making eight of the 12 shots he took. Nick Barnard also added 16 for a Regina team that lead the game for nearly 34 of the 40 minutes of play. 

Brandon Meiklejohn led Alberta with 24 points, 13 of which came in the final quarter during the Bears comeback attempt. Adam Paige added 22, with the two fifth-years combining for 68% of the Alberta offence on Saturday night. 

Alberta held a slim 32-29 lead at the half, in what was a back-and-forth first two quarters. 

Regina exploded in the third, outscoring Alberta 29-13. N. Barnard led Regina with eight points in the third quarter, along with five from M. Barnard. Regina made 11 of their 16 shots in the third, five of which were from beyond the arc. 

The offensive momentum completely flipped to open the fourth, as Alberta went on a 14-2 run, with eight of those points coming from Meiklejohn. A Paige layup with 75 seconds left tied the game at 66, before Regina clawed back to secure the win. 

Alberta will host the Thompson Rivers WolfPack next weekend in the final two games at Saville Centre this season.