VANCOUVER – A massive performance from third-year transfer
Brylle Kamen (Paris, France) led the UBC Thunderbirds to a 96-84 win over the Lethbridge Pronghorns on Saturday night at War Memorial Gym, giving UBC coach
Kevin Hanson his 200th conference win.
BOX SCORE
Kamen scored a season-high 26 points and grabbed an astonishing 21 rebounds – just two shy of a UBC single game record set by Aaron Point on Feb. 13, 1987.
“I think I played enough minutes to get the record. I'm a little disappointed because I could have got more,” joked Kamen after his 33-minute effort. “It was a great defensive effort from the team. We did a very good job on defence so for me it was easy to get those rebounds.”
But it wasn't just grabbing easy defensive boards, as Kamen snagged seven on the offensive glass, helping UBC post a 15-8 advantage in second chance points.
A 20-and-20 performance is about the only thing that could have overshadowed what Kamen's fellow big man
David Wagner (Kamloops, BC) did on Saturday. He put up a career-high 21 points on Friday, and all he did for an encore against Lethbridge was score 28. That's the best single-game total for a T-Bird this year since
O'Brian Wallace (Toronto, ON) scored 34 in the conference opener.
Wagner and Kamen combined for almost half the field goal attempts in the game for UBC, giving the 'Birds a 48-28 advantage scoring in the paint.
“I have to give a shout out to the team for that. The team did a great job of finding us inside today,” Kamen said, referring to the looks he and Wagner got in the low post.
A lot of Kamen's offensive production came at the free throw line, where he had struggled early in the season, shooting just 66 per cent coming into Saturday's game. But he went 14-17 from the line against the Horns, a feat he credited to his improving physical condition.
“It's all about my legs. I was injured right before the season and my hamstring was killing me for the past month and a half,” Kamen said. “Recovering from injuries, it's hard to get your rhythm back but I've always been a decent free throw shooter so tonight was more what I should be able to do. “
Hanson, in his 13th season at UBC, is just the third coach in Canada West history to reach 200 regular season wins.
“It's still amazing to have the fire every afternoon getting ready for these games,” said Hanson, whose record is now 200-61.
The first two quarters were mostly controlled by UBC, but some hot three-point shooting kept Lethbridge close. They trailed by just three heading into halftime, but the T-Birds exploded for a 32-point third quarter to take a comfortable cushion into the final frame. They had scoring runs of 14-0 and 11-0 in the third.
The Pronghorns didn't go quietly in the fourth though, heating up from three again to cut into the lead. They had it down from a high of 21 all the way to nine at one point in the fourth after a sequence in which Logan Reiter scored five points in a matter of seconds, but the T-Birds were able to settle and get to the free-throw line consistently to wrap the game up.
Julian Spear Chief-Morris and Alex Fletcher each had 17 points to lead Lethbridge. Chaz Johnson, Derek Waldner and Reiter all scored in double digits as well. But UBC's 45-29 rebounding advantage was too much to overcome despite 13 Lethbridge threes in the game.
Doug Plumb (Pitt Meadows, BC) quietly put together an excellent all-around performance for the 'Birds, chipping in 16 points, nine assists, three steals and six rebounds.
The win means UBC will have the Pacific Division lead heading into the break. They are 8-2 on the year, while the Pronghorns fall to 5-5.
Conference play resumes on January 11 for the T-Birds, and their next home series goes January 18 and 19 when Brandon and Regina come to town.
-30-
