HALIFAX, March 13

Defending champion Alberta's entry prolonged its hot pursuit of another Tim Hortons Brier on Saturday night, defeating Northern Ontario's Brad Jacobs of Sault Ste. Marie 10-3 in a semi-final collision.

The victory moved Koe's Edmonton unit, with Blake MacDonald at third, Carter Rycroft at second and Nolan Thiessen at lead, to Sunday's championship final (8 p.m. AT) against Ontario's Glenn Howard of Coldwater.

It will be second collision between the teams. Alberta lost a round-robin meeting to undefeated Ontario by a 7-6 count in the Brier's final round-robin draw Thursday night..

The winner of the Brier title will represent Canada at the Capital One World men's championship, April 3-11 at Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy.