EDMONTON - Second-year Nash Semeniuk scored a career-high 29 points, 24 coming in the second half, to lead the Alberta Golden Bears to a thrilling 84-81 comeback win over the MRU Cougars Saturday night at the Saville Centre.

Alberta was down 42-37, and 67-62 at the half and the end of the third quarter to eventually pull a victory from the jaws of defeat. They start 2-0 on the year for the first time since 2021, while the Cougars get off to their worst start since 2018 at 0-2. While that is not a marker you want to tout, they looked every bit Alberta's equal in this one, and were beaten by a herculean effort from Semeniuk.

Alberta got off to a flying start, with Kyle Varner hitting two threes off of turnovers in the first two minutes to force an early MRU timeout down 8-0. However, the Cougars would ratchet up the intensity for the rest of the frame, outscoring the hosts 18-13 from the timeout. Varner would pace all scorers with nine points, all on treys, while the Cougars saw six different players reach the scoresheet. The Bears would exit the first with a thin 21-18 lead.

MRU continued to build off of their late first quarter, as they dominated the Bears in the early second, stifling the Alberta attack while DJ Roberts dropped a quarter-high nine to capture the game for the visitors. They were money on the fastbreak, both offensively and defensively, as they outscored the Bears 5-0 on those opportunities. They entered the half with a 42-37 lead, with Roberts and Varner the leading scorers at 13 and 12 points, respectively.

The Bears got their mojo back to begin the second, with Isaac Simon leading the way hitting two massive threes to cut the deficit to just one point midway through the quarter. However, the Cougars would not let the game slip from their grasp, as they recovered on the back of some big shots from Jacob McLellan and Co. to enter the fourth up 67-62.

In the final frame though, it was all Nash Semeniuk's. The Bears were keeping up with MRU but could not quite capture enough on offence to truly challenge a five-point deficit. However, midway through the frame Seminiuk hit a huge corner three that cut the lead to two and seemed to energize the home side. Then, a miraculous sequence for the second-year guard with two minutes to go. He first hit a three on a hard-contested shot that got him an extra point for an 80-79 lead, sending a packed Saville Centre into bedlam. Then, after a huge stop the other way hit a time expiring three from the top of the arc to give Alberta an 83-79 lead, one they would not relinquish as they locked the last minute down to escape with an 84-81 win.

Next weekend, the Bears travel to Prince George for a date with the Timberwolves, while the Cougars return home to face the Saskatchewan Huskies.