VANCOUVER -
Doug Plumb had a big night in his season debut returning from injury with a game-high 25 points, and
Kamar Burke was a monster on the glass, grabbing 17 rebounds to lead the No. 4 UBC Thunderbirds to a 104-75 win over their rivals from Trinity Western on Thursday.
The T-Birds led from start to finish on Thursday, but the Spartans kept it close for the first half, and made a strong push in the third quarter to cut into the UBC lead. They trailed by 15 in the third until an 8-0 run in less than a minute and a half brought the Spartans to within seven.
But the 'Birds began to pull away again late in the third, and Plumb put the exclamation mark on the quarter for UBC with a slick spin move past Kyle Coston before hitting a tough layup through contact. He drew Coston's fourth foul of the game on the play, and put his side up 73-59 with a few seconds to go in the quarter. He missed the free throw, but Burke was there to clean up the glass and make it a four-point trip for the 'Birds.
"(Doug) came out and got it going offensively, but we need him to play on both sides of the ball," said UBC head coach
Kevin Hanson. "He's a very exciting athletic player on the offensive side, and we're trying to get him to compete like that defensively too, which is why we gave him the assignment of Coston to try and motivate him."
Coston, the Spartans' leading scorer, was in foul trouble for much of the second half. He still managed a team-high 19 points but turned the ball over six times and was 0-for-3 from the field in the fourth.
Burke added 15 points to his 17 rebounds, many of which came off put-backs on the offensive glass. He also grabbed three steals to round out an impressive defensive performance.
The T-Birds also got big contributions from some of their young talent. Sophomore forward
Tommy Nixon netted 14 points, and rookie guard
Malcolm Williams poured in 14 too, along with a game-high eight assists.
"We play some of our best basketball when some of those young guys are on the floor," said Hanson. "I think we share the ball a bit better, and their confidence just grows and they're looking to execute and not just take a backseat role as freshmen."
Graham Bath and
Nathan Yu cracked double digits in scoring as well for the 'Birds, who shot over 56 per cent from the field.
The Spartans were also shooting 56 per cent through three quarters, but went cold in the fourth, hitting just three of their 15 field goal attempts.
Tristan Smith had 15 points for the visitors. Calvin Westbrook and Sean Peter each scored 14.
The T-Birds improve to 3-0 on the season, while the Spartans drop to 2-3. The teams have Friday to regroup before getting back at each other on Saturday at 7 p.m. to wrap up the weekend series.
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