VANCOUVER – The No. 2 UBC Thunderbirds men's basketball team will open the 2013 calendar year with a road trip to Manitoba. UBC will face the Manitoba Bisons and Winnipeg Wesmen, who sit in third and second, respectively, in the Canada West Prairie Division. Both games will be streamed with live statistics at
CanadaWest.TV.
Friday, Jan. 11
6 p.m. - No. 2 UBC at Manitoba
Saturday, Jan. 12
5 p.m. - No. 2 UBC at Winnipeg
No. 2 UBC Thunderbirds (8-2)
The T-Birds bring a balanced offence to the table, as the No. 2 team in the country boasts six players who score at least nine points a game.
Doug Plumb (Pitt Meadows, BC) leads the way with 16.0 ppg, while
Brylle Kamen (Paris, France) is averaging a double-double so far (11.0 points and 10.0 rebounds).
Kamen had a career weekend during the last weekend of regular season play in 2012. He recorded a total of 38 points and 37 rebounds against Calgary and Lethbridge, respectively.
David Wagner (Kamloops, BC) had a similarly proficient weekend in UBC's last two games, as he scored 49 points over two games against Calgary and Lethbridge. The South Kamloops graduate also grabbed 14 rebounds.
As a team, UBC is second in the league in points score and first in rebounding margin, gaining nearly 10 more boards than its opponent every game.
Manitoba Bisons (7-4)
You'll find the Bisons in the middle of pack in just about every Canada West statistical category. One exception is in the turnover margin category. Manitoba is third in the league and gains 3.27 more turnovers than it gives up.
Stephan Walton is sixth in the conference in scoring with 18.4 points a game and second in assists with 4.9. Yigit Ozsayiner is tied for fifth in rebounding (8.5 a game).
Winnipeg Wesmen (8-3)
The Winnipeg Wesmen will provide UBC with a stiff test on Saturday, as they are one of just two teams in the league with an undefeated home record (6-0).
Andrew Cunningham is one of the sparkplugs on offence for Winnipeg as he has 82 assists over 10 regular season appearances. No other player in the Canada West averages five helpers a game.
Steven Wesley is the team leader in scoring (17 points), tied for 10th in the conference, and rebounding (8.5), which ties him for fifth.
Winnipeg hosted Manitoba on Dec. 5 in the final league game of 2012 and beat the Bisons 74-71.
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