Files from U of A Sports Information
EDMONTON - For 30 minutes, it looked like the University of Alberta Golden Bears basketball team was going to score an upset over the no. 2 ranked UBC Thunderbirds. But the T-Birds turned a 13-point deficit into a five point win in the blink of an eye, defeating Alberta 81-76 Friday night in the U of A's Main Gym.
It was a massive fourth quarter for the T-Birds as they out scored their hosts 30-12 en route to tough road victory. The T-Birds were led by 2010 CIS player of the year
Josh Whyte, who scored 19 points and added six assists and six boards, while
Nathan Yu banked 17 points, and
Kamar Burke had 14points and a game-high nine rebounds.
Alberta got a white hot performance from fourth-year Edmonton guard Daniel Ferguson, as he torched the mesh for a game-high 29 points, after hitting six of 12 three-point attempts. Jordan Baker, the 2010 Canada West rookie of the year, had 16 points and four steals for the Bears as well.
UBC now moves to a 4-1 record, while Alberta picks up their first loss of the season, sliding down to a 2-1 mark.
The Golden Bears came out with a strong first quarter, which was hardly surprising, given the near capacity Main Gym for the team's home opening contest. After Alberta squeezed out a 19-14 first quarter lead, UBC stepped up the tempo considerably in the second quarter, but the Bears stayed stride for stride with them, as each team notched 22 points in the second quarter, giving Alberta a 41-36 half-time lead.
After the break, Alberta ballooned that lead to a 13-point advantage at one point in the third as Ferguson, a two-time all-American transfer from Berry College of the NAIA, hit a couple of very long range threes. The Bears outscored UBC 23-15 in the third, firing up the big crowd, and seemed destined for their first home win of the season, leading 64-51.
However, as quickly as that lead grew, the Thunderbirds were able to knock it back down to size just as fast, and eventually toppled it, taking over midway through the fourth.
Whyte, Burke, and Yu combined for a 12-0 UBC run to start the third quarter and a
Graham Bath jumper with 6:18 left finally put UBC ahead 65-54.
The T-Birds kept the pressure on and a lay-in by freshman
Tommy Nixon and three-pointer from Whyte midway through the frame put UBC up four. Their lead grew to six but a lay-up and three pointer from Ferguson cut the Alberta deficit to one with 1:36 remaining.
A key jumper from
Alex Murphy, followed by two free throws from the fifth-year guard restored the UBC buffer and the T-Birds made three of four free throws in the final minute to seal the win.
Alberta will get their chance at redemption Saturday night, as they face the Thunderbirds one more time, with tip-off going at 8:00 pm in the Main Gym.
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