VANCOUVER – A 14-1 run that bridged halftime powered the No. 5 UBC Thunderbirds men's basketball team to an 83-66 victory in Kamloops over the host Thompson Rivers WolfPack on Friday night.
"We haven't played well on the road this season and I think this was our best effort away from home," said UBC head coach
Kevin Hanson. "The guys were really focused to play. We had a good week of practice. Our senior guys really stepped it up and stuck to the game plan and executed very well."
The visiting Thunderbirds were up just 31-28 with 38 seconds to go in the first half.
Two
Graham Bath (5th, Langley, BC) free throws put UBC up five points at the break.
UBC then proceeded to score the first 12 of the second half.
Six of those points came from
Doug Plumb (5th, Pitt Meadows, BC), who would end the game with a team-high 23, along with seven rebounds.
While TRU was able to cut its deficit to single digits early in the final quarter, the Thunderbirds very quickly pushed their lead back up to 16 and eventually up to 20 before the final whistle.
UBC started the game with a big run, recording the first 11 points of the game, but the WolfPack came back to tie the affair and were down by just a bucket at the first quarter break.
Guard
Malcolm Williams (1st, Pitt Meadows, BC) added 15 points off the bench to continue his fine play in his rookie season.
Kamar Burke, the former WolfPack player, chipped in with 12 points and seven rebounds, solidifying his place in the top ten of the Canada West's all-time leading rebounders.
Balraj Bains (5th, Delta, BC) also tied for the team high in rebounds with seven.
Justin King scored 14 points and grabbed nine boards to lead his TRU team in both categories.
"I thought the marquee guys on both sides played really well," said Hanson. "King is obviously very difficult to stop and very talented. He is great from the three point range and offensively he is a dynamite player. I thought Kamar did a very good job of defending him. We are starting to play good team defence. You can't stop the talented guys in this league without it. We have adjusted our over aggressive defence to play more team oriented and containing style.“
The Thunderbirds shot 51.7 percent from the field, while holding the hosts to just 31.8 percent.
The win improves UBC's regular season record to 7-2, just a game behind Victoria for first place in the Pacific Division after the Vikes lost to third-place Fraser Valley.
The Thunderbirds and WolfPack will meet again on Saturday, with the opening tip at 7 p.m. in Kamloops.
- with files from Larry Read (TRU Sports Information Director)
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