BRANDON -
Alex Murphy put together an impressive all around performance as the no. 2 ranked UBC Thunderbirds improved their current winning streak to 12 games with a 106-62 victory over the Brandon Bobcats on Saturday night.
Murphy, the team's fifth-year point guard, had 17 points, five assists, five steals, and four rebounds for the 'Birds. He was one of six players to hit double figures on the night as all 11 UBC players scored at least two points.
Fellow starters
Doug Plumb (15),
Josh Whyte (12), and
Brent Malish (12) also put up double figures as did
Nathan Yu and
Graham Bath, who each finished with 10 points off the bench.
"We executed very well defensively once again and our play on defence led to a lot of our points in transition. This whole weekend we were solid offensively in all three categories - from the field, three-point line, and free throws," said Hanson. "Once again, we were really happy with how our guys performed coming off the bench. They all played their roles very well and they were ready to go both offensively and defensively."
With the win, UBC (16-2) remains first overall in the Canada West with six games left in the regular season. The 'Birds have a bye next weekend before hitting the road February 4 and 5 to take on the Regina Cougars. They follow that series with their final home dates of the regular season against Thompson Rivers on February 11 and 12 before traveling to Victoria to close out their conference schedule on February 18 and 19 against the Vikes.
"It's a greet opportunity to focus on ourselves over the next two weeks. We're starting to improve on the things we have been on working on in practice and its good to see what we are doing in practice is translating to our performance in games. There are still some areas that we can get better and this will be a time to look at ourselves, focus on what we are doing," added Hanson.
After winning by 59 points on Friday, a team record under head coach
Kevin Hanson, the 'Birds were impressive from the get go on Saturday as well. They opened the game on an 11-3 run and a 6-0 run in the final 60 seconds of the first quarter had them ahead 25-9 through 10 minutes of play.
Brandon responded with a better effort early in the second quarter, opening the frame on a 6-2 run but they couldn't hang with the T-Birds who extended their advantage to 48-28 at the half.
The hosts maintained their offence pace in the third quarter, putting up 18 points but the 'Birds hit their stride as they scored 30 points in that span to lead by 32 after three. It was more of the same in the fourth, as UBC poured in another 28 points to break the 100-point plateau for the fourth time in the 2010-11 Canada West season.
Isaiah James and O'Brian Wallace led the hosts with 14 points apiece but Brandon once again struggled to make shots against the T-Birds' tough defence, finishing 22-of-58 (37.9%) from the field.
UBC was 36-of-67 (53.7%) from the floor and dominated the rebounding battle 41-22.
Tommy Nixon had a team-high eight rebounds in just 12 minutes of play.
Melvyn Mayott,
Kamar Burke, and Malish finished with a combined 16 boards to help lead the charge on the glass.
"Tonight we wanted to emphasize rebounding and limiting turnovers. We were very happy how we performed in those areas. We did a great job on the boards, out rebounding them by 19, which limited their second chance opportunities while taking care of the ball on offence with just the 12 turnovers," said Hanson.
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