GUELPH, ON - The UBC Thunderbirds overcame a sluggish third quarter that saw them score only 10 points and they did enough down the stretch to hold off the Guelph Gryphons 79-76 in pre-season action on the road.
BOX SCORE
UBC never trailed in the contest but after a dominant first half, which saw them lead 49-31 through 20 minutes of play, Guelph started to chip away at the lead.
It took UBC exactly five minutes to make their first basket of the second half, a jumper from leading scorer
Nathan Yu who poured in 17 off the bench. That didn't slow the Gryphons down, however, as they poured it on in the third frame out scoring UBC 25-10 to cut the visitors lead to just three points.
UBC extended their lead to as many as nine in the fourth quarter but back-to-back threes from Guelph and a free throw cut the T-Bird advantage to only two with 4:05.
The Gryphons finally made it all the way back, tying the game with a pair of free throws with 1:48 on the clock.
Yu responded with a jumper and a Guelph turnover was converted by
Doug Plumb to put UBC ahead by four and the visitors took care of business from the foul line in the final minute to hang on for the win.
Jonathan Moscatelli led all scorers with 26 points, including 6-of-11 shooting from beyond the arc. Guelph was 12-of-28 from long range, however, they were only 10-of-28 from the field.
UBC was cold from long range, making only 2-of-13 attempts but went 25-of-49 from the field.
Kamar Burke chipped in with 15 points, four rebounds, and two blocks off the bench.
Josh Whyte notched a double-double with 14 points and a team-high 11 rebounds while fellow guard
Alex Murphy added 10 points and three assists.
UBC hosts Laurentian next Friday for the final exhibition contest before opening their Canada West season on October 22 and 23 against Saskatchewan at War Memorial.
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