VANCOUVER - The UBC Thunderbirds finished their opening weekend sweep on Saturday with a decisive 100-71 win over the Regina Cougars, led by fifth-year point guard
Nathan Yu's 34 points.
Yu led the T-Birds to a hot start with eight first quarter points, helping his side outscore the Cougars 30-13 in the opening frame.
Regina bounced back impressively in the second quarter though, thanks largely to Sterling Nostedt and his 13 points in the period. He was four of six from three-point range in the second, keeping the Cougars close at the break.
But it was Yu's turn to dominate a quarter in the third. He dropped 16 points in the frame and added two assists and two steals to re-inflate the UBC lead. The 'Birds were up 86-59 heading into the fourth quarter.
"Nate's had an exceptional beginning of the year. He's played an awful lot of basketball, from the Universiade Games to the Pan Ams, so we're a little worried about the fatigue factor," said UBC head coach
Kevin Hanson. "With overuse, injuries can creep up on a guy, and he's playing point guard so the ball is in his hands a lot, but he's also putting up some points for us so he's really turning into a complete player, because that's the role we need him to fill."
Yu came off the court midway through the fourth, finishing with six rebounds and eight assists to complement his game-high scoring total.
He was 6-for-11 from behind the arc, but wasn't the only T-Bird with the scoring touch from long range on Saturday. Rookie shooting guard
Malcolm Williams had 15 points, all from three-point range, and the T-Birds hit 52 per cent of their threes as a team.
"They played a lot of zone so we had a lot of opportunities to shoot the three," said Hanson. "We're really trying to get the ball inside because all four (of our post players) are really tough once they get it inside. We'd been so perimeter oriented that we really wanted to establish a presence inside, so anything we get from the perimeter right now is going to be a bonus for us."
Kamar Burke had a game-high nine rebounds and rounded off his night nicely with nine points, four assists and three blocks.
Tommy Nixon scored 19 points and led the T-Bird defensive effort with five steals.
Nostedt finished with a team-high 16 points for the Cougars. Paul Gareau and Connor Burns both cracked double digits in scoring as well.
The Cougars fall to 0-3 and will search for their first win at home next weekend against Calgary.
The T-Birds start the year 2-0 and have a pair of games against rival Trinity Western to look forward to next week. The 'Birds and Spartans square off on Thursday, November 17 and Saturday, November 19 at War Memorial Gym.
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