VANCOUVER – The UBC Thunderbirds staged a late run during today's pre-season game against the Waterloo Warriors, outscoring the visitors 8-2 in the final two minutes, to defeat the Warriors 67-61 at War Memorial Gym.

The Thunderbirds stumbled out of the gate versus Waterloo and found themselves down by 11 after one quarter.

That tough start set the stage for the game. UBC battled hard the rest of the way, with the Warriors managing to keep them at bay until Josh Whyte drove the ball up court with 2:44 left to play. Whyte found a wide open Denny Dumas deep in the corner, where Dumas hit a game-tying three pointer.

The atmosphere approached playoff level intensity as the teams traded points down the stretch. UBC took its first lead since the second quarter with just 1:08 left on the clock, and didn't let the Warriors back in the game.

Head coach Kevin Hanson spoke about the comeback.

"I think in a game like this, it's important learning to execute down the stretch," said Hanson. "In our time-outs we were talking about being the more mature team and being disciplined and not panicking. We weren't very composed at some points in this game."

UBC relied on nearly their entire line-up to get the job done. Eight players were on the floor for 17 or more minutes, with five of those hitting double digits. The widespread minutes contributed to fatiguing Waterloo, who got into foul trouble near the end of the game.

"We're going to try to use our depth all season," remarked Hanson. "We pushed in transition, but not as much as I wanted to. It was their third game in three days, so we thought they were going to wear down at some point. Luckily they got into foul trouble, and we just kept on being aggressive down the stretch."

UBC was led by the exploits of seniors Kyle Watson, who had a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds, and Josh Whyte added 10 points, nine rebounds, and five steals.

Hanson discussed another of Whyte's assets – leadership.

"Tonight down the stretch we got some good leadership out of Josh," said Hanson. "He got the right guys the ball. We'd like Josh to be the guy on the court who can take charge."

Waterloo had three players in double digits, led by Jesse Tipping, who had 12 points in the loss.

UBC begins conference play on home court when Trinity Western visits War Memorial on Friday, October 30. Tip-off is scheduled for 8 p.m.