VANCOUVER -- Down seven points heading into the final frame, the No. 2 UBC Thunderbirds rallied to outscore the No. 7 Saskatchewan Huskies 30-16 in the fourth quarter en route to a 90-83 win on Friday night at War Memorial Gym.
Brent Malish hit a pair of threes early in the fourth to cut into the Saskatchewan lead, and the UBC defence finally managed to slow down last year's conference scoring leader Showron Glover, as he scored just three of his game-high 34 points in the final 10 minutes.
Kamar Burke's steal and dunk with about four minutes to go gave UBC their first lead since the early third at 78-76, and they slowly pulled away in the dying minutes to seal the win.
Josh Whyte was a big part of the effort to stop Glover, stripping him twice in the final frame and setting up baskets for UBC on both occasions. Whyte finished with a team-highs in points, rebounds and steals with 24, nine and six respectively.
"Josh is the go-to guy when we need it now," said UBC head coach
Kevin Hanson.
UBC had no answer for Glover through the first 30 minutes of Friday's contest, as the reigning scoring champ hit 10 of 16 shots from the field, including three from beyond the arc, to give him 31 points heading into the fourth.
"Showron's penetration was hurting us and then he started to get hot. We tried five different guys to defend him but he still got penetration," said Hanson. "Once we went to zone defence some of their other guys started taking shots and we went on a bit of a run and were able to take the momentum."
The game was tied at halftime, but Saskatchewan controlled the third quarter, outscoring UBC 26-19 and outshooting them 50% to 31.3% in the frame. Glover had all the momentum on Saskatchewan's side after he hit two circus shots late in the frame, first connecting on a no-look over-the-shoulder layup and then hitting a tough jumper while floating sideways through heavy traffic in the key.
"That's the best Saskatchewan team I've seen since I have been coaching here," said Hanson. "They have size, they have athleticism and they have one of the best scorers in the country so that was a really good win against a really good basketball team."
In the end it was UBC's depth once again that made the difference. While Michael Linklater's 10 points were second on the team for Saskatchewan, UBC got significant offensive contributions from multiple players on the night. In addition to Whyte's outstanding performance, Malish had 15 points,
Nathan Yu finished with 14 and Burke chipped in 11.
UBC now boasts a well-earned 2-0 record after having defeated tough division rivals Trinity Western in their season opener. The loss drops the Huskies to 2-1.
The 'Birds will greet another tough opponent tomorrow when the 4-1 Alberta Golden Bears will be at War Memorial Gym for an 8:00 p.m. tip-off, while the Huskies will travel to Victoria to take on the Vikes.
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