Box Score The Winnipeg Wesmen took another opportunity to prove themselves as true contenders in the Canada West Friday night.

The Wesmen got 16 points from freshman Ryan Luke and led wire to wire en route to a dominant 79-59 conference win over the Regina Cougars at the Duckworth Centre. 

The win moved the Wesmen record to 8-3 on the season, good enough for third place in the Canada West.

Luke added nine rebounds in addition to his career-high off the bench, while adding a career-high three blocks. 

The Wesmen used a 20-7 run over 6:09 of the second quarter and early moments of the third to break the game open after the Cougars had pulled to 22-20. The lead ballooned to 23 points just two minutes later as a Donald Stewart three and Mikhail Mikhailov layup made it 53-30. 

Winnipeg's largest lead was 34 before the Wesmen emptied the bench for the fourth quarter. 

Mikhailov and Shawn Maranan both had 13 points with Mikhailov hauling down 12 rebounds for his third straight double-double. Maranan had seven assists and three steals. 

Stewart chipped in with 12 points and was 2-for-2 from the three-point line, and Alberto Gordo had 10 points, seven assists and four steals off the bench. 

The Wesmen held the Cougars (5-6) to 3 of 18 shooting from three 36.5 shooting overall. Winnipeg nine of 27 threes and was 39.2 per cent from the field. 

Arinze Emeka-Anyakwo led the Cougars with 14 points. Jalen Edwards added 12 points and nine rebounds, and Majak Madol chipped in with 11. 

The two teams will face each other again Saturday with tip at 5 p.m. Tickets are available online now at wesmen.ca/tickets.