Morgan Eichenberger in action against the MacEwan Griffins on Nov. 8. (Image Credit: MacEwan Griffins)

By Victor Kaisar

Canada West Basketball

WolfPack men tie program-best start; women sweep first weekend since 2023

Nov 9, 2025 | 10:04 AM

EDMONTON — Jayden Stephens scored with about ten seconds left to play as the TRU men’s basketball team matched their best ever start to a Canada West season, with a 65-64 win over the MacEwan Griffins.

The WolfPack improved to 5-0 Saturday (Nov. 8) night, thanks also in part to some defensive work as time expired. Diego Presingular’s three-pointer from a tough angle would have walked it off for MacEwan, but his shot bounced off the rim and out.

Dami Farinloye scored a game-high 21 points and added ten rebounds to lead the WolfPack. Stephens finished with 14 points and five steals while rookie – and Kamloops local – Cason Scott added 13 points. Scott also gobbled up the rebound after Presingular’s shot as the buzzer sounded.

“It wasn’t a pretty win by any means, we really had to stick together and show some resiliency and mental toughness to get through that game and come out on the other end,” WolfPack head coach Chad Jacobson said.

“We were struggling to put the ball in the hoop, it felt like there was a lid on it for long stretches of the game but at the end of the day our defence and rebounding is what we really need to rely on to win games.”

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The WolfPack are top of the Canada West Pacific Division with a 5-0 record. While they also began the 2015-16 season with five wins in a row, the WolfPack men have never won six in a row to begin a season.

This WolfPack team will get a chance to write their names into the record book next weekend as they’ll finally play at the Tournament Capital Centre. The WolfPack will host the 2-4 Trinity Western Spartans in their 2025-26 home opening weekend.

“The guys are looking forward to it,” Jacobson said. “It’s been a long stretch on the road for us including the preseason and I know we are excited to get back home and play in front of our home crowd.”

In women’s basketball action, Kamloops local Morgan Eichenberger scored 21 points and pulled down a program record-tying 19 rebounds to lead the WolfPack to a 57-49 win over the Griffins.

Eichenberger went 10-14 from the floor, while Olena Vasylenko had her best night with the WolfPack as she chipped in with 17 points and six steals.

While TRU led after one quarter, they trailed 27-23 at the half. They retook the lead for good in the fourth quarter and pulled away to double their win total from last season.

“Happy for the team. By no means was it a perfect game out there, but hopefully there were some lessons learned on how things go for you when you are able to execute the game plan,” WolfPack associate head coach Joe Davis said.

“We managed to win the battle on the glass which is something that we spend a lot of time talking about. We are getting better with our attention to detail.”

This is the TRU’s first weekend sweep in women’s basketball since 2023 and their second since 2019. They’re now 2-3 and sit in fifth in the Canada West Pacific Division.

Like the men, the WolfPack women will also get to play their home opener next weekend when the Trinity Western Spartans come to Kamloops for games Nov. 14 and 15.