VANCOUVER - Looking to close out a very successful first half of the 2010 Canada West season by extending their current winning streak to six games, the no. 2 ranked UBC Thunderbirds host the Lethbridge Pronghorns this Thursday and Friday at War Memorial Gym. Tip-offs are set for 8:00 p.m.
LIVE STATS
A look at the Thunderbirds
The T-Birds' four game winning streak has them tied with Trinity Western at 8-2 for the best record in the conference, however, they currently sit first in Canada West by virtue of their two-game sweep of the Spartans earlier this season. UBC has the second best scoring margin in the conference, which is unsurprising considering their +4.40 turnover margin - also second in Canada West. Other than Saskatchewan, no other team is above +1.5, and Lethbridge is worst in the league at -4.50, so the turnover battle could be a deciding factor this weekend.
Their prowess in the turnover department can be attributed to the stellar guard play of fifth-years
Josh Whyte and
Alex Murphy, who are one-two in Canada West in their assist-to-turnover ratios at 3.5 and 3.4 respectively. Whyte also leads the 'Birds with 19 points-per-game and his .542 field goal percentage is third on the team. He has excelled at generating offence all over the court, leading the team in three-point shots made with a .405 percentage from behind the arc, and doing damage in the paint with nearly twice as many free-throw attempts as any other T-Bird.
One of the pleasant surprises for this year's team has been the emergence of UFV transfer
Doug Plumb, who has carved out a significant part of the rotation for himself in his first year with the 'Birds. After a solid showing against his former team last week, Plumb is averaging 11.4 points-per-game, and is fourth in team rebounding and second in steals.
A look at the Pronghorns
A pair of close wins over Thompson Rivers last week has the 'Horns on the right track after a five-game losing streak, but at 3-7 they still have a long way to go if they want to get back in the playoff hunt.
Nothing has come easy for the Lethbridge offence, as it ranks 10th in the league with an average of 76 points. Their field goal percentage of .384 is third-worst in Canada West, and their efficiency from the three-point line is second-worst at .306 - a stark contrast to UBC's opponents of the past two weeks, who put the 'Birds to the test with deadly long-range shooting.
Randy Davis and Danhue Lawrence provide the bulk of the offence. Davis averages 17.6 points to lead the team, while Lawrence chips in 15.2 points and is second in team rebounding, averaging 6.5 per game. He also leads the team with just under four assists-per-game. That responsibility to produce has taken its toll on them in the form of turnover woes though. Davis averages just under five turnovers while Lawrence is just under four.
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