DAVID LARKINS, Wesmen Athletics

A rough start led to a long night for the Winnipeg Wesmen Friday night. 

The Saskatchewan Huskies put up a season-high 61 points in the first half and rolled to a 91-71 Canada West men's basketball victory Friday night at the Duckworth Centre. 

Despite going 0-for-6 in the third quarter, the Huskies shot a season-best 48 per cent (12 of 25) from three, including 6-for-8 in the first quarter when they opened a 33-18 lead. The Huskies were 11-for-16 from three at the half.

The Wesmen outscored the Huskies in the second half as they chipped away at a 33-point halftime deficit.

Don Dayrit had 14 points to lead the Wesmen and Shawn Maranan added 12 with six assists and four rebounds. Spas Nikolov chipped in 10 and nine rebounds while shooting 5-for-7 from the field.

Alexander had a game-high 34 points to pace the Huskies (8-3), who won their sixth in a row and pulled into a tie for first place with Regina in the East Division. Nervens Demosthene added 22 points, Emmanuel Akintunde 16 and Marquavian Stevens, the team's leading scorer this season, added 10. 

The Huskies' four top scorers combined to shoot 11-for-18 from three and accounted for all but one of the team's three-point makes. 

Winnipeg fell to 5-7 and is in fourth place. 

The Wesmen shot 8-for-33 from three — their second-lowest percentage of the season — and 38.9 per cent from the field. 

The teams will meet again Saturday at 5 p.m. at the Duckworth Centre.

—#REPTHEW—