VANCOUVER – A career night from
Tommy Nixon (2nd, Vancouver, BC) highlighted a 78-54 win for the No. 5 UBC Thunderbirds men's basketball team over Thompson Rivers in Kamloops on Saturday night.
“We were thrilled to take two on the road,” said UBC head coach
Kevin Hanson. “It is something we addressed to play more effective on the road. I thought we did some great things.”
Nixon, a graduate of Vancouver's Kitsilano Secondary, scored 22 points and grabbed 13 rebounds to lead UBC in both categories.
The Thunderbirds built an early double-digit lead, taking a 26-13 advantage into the first quarter break against TRU, who was without leading scorer Justin King because of injury.
A Nixon lay-up with 3:43 left before halftime gave UBC a 19-point lead.
Another Nixon basket pushed UBC ahead by 22 points in the third quarter before a late 14-2 WolfPack run to end the quarter made things interesting for the fourth.
But an 8-0 spurt by UBC, which began with a
Balraj Bains (5th, Delta, BC) dunk and was capped off by a Nixon jumper, to open the final period left nothing in doubt for the Thunderbirds.
“Tommy played great and gave us something when we needed it,” Hanson explained. “When a guy can shoot it from that deep and has outside range and some great post moves inside and scored in transition. He did a great job in a number of different areas. I was pleased with his defensive efforts as well. When you have a guy of that height being able to guard perimeter guys and the post, he is a natural Canada 3-4 position combo player. I thought he had a great weekend for us.”
Nixon's previous career best was a 19-point performance earlier this season (Nov. 12, 2011) at Regina.
Other UBC players in double figures tonight were guard
Nathan Yu (5th, Prince George, BC) with 12 points and Bains with ten.
Chas Kok led TRU with 19 points and 12 rebounds.
The Thunderbird defence held TRU to just 29.0 percent shooting from the field, while UBC shot 40.3 percent.
The win moves UBC to 8-2 while the WolfPack fall to 5-7.
UBC's next games will be next weekend at Manitoba and Winnipeg, while TRU will also play road games, at Alberta and Saskatchewan.
- with files from Larry Read (TRU Sports Information Director)
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