VANCOUVER - For the second night in a row the UBC Thunderbirds took their foot off the gas in the third quarter, and once again it nearly cost them.
BOX SCORE
In the end, the Thunderbirds prevailed with a 75-65 victory over the Regina Cougars. However, a 14-point lead at halftime quickly evaporated to just four points in the third quarter, a recurring theme for UBC.
The Thunderbirds managed to leverage a 20-rebound advantage that helped offset their 35% shooting and 24 turnovers. They also forced 24 turnovers, but their play was generally more sloppy than you would expect from the second-ranked team in the CIS Top 10.
Doug Plumb (Pitt Meadows, BC) led the way with 15 points, while
Brylle Kamen (Paris, France) had his usual double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
Paul Gareau had 18 points to lead the comeback charge, while Frank Brown and Antonio Tate each also had 14 for the Cougars. Tate hit four threes to expedite the process as well.
On Friday, head coach
Kevin Hanson was more forgiving, content with his team learning to win in different ways. On Saturday, his attitude was different.
“I was really disappointed with it,” said Hanson. “I'm really looking forward to practice on Monday.
“I was very frustrated tonight right from the get go. We didn't bring energy. I had a sense after our shooter this morning that the guys weren't mentally into it. I didn't think we did a good job competing very hard.”
Those may seem like harsh words for a team that won both games on the weekend to improve to 12-2, but the team is aiming to peak for the playoffs and these type of outings can prevent positive momentum from building. UBC's next six games are against teams with losing records, so it will be imperative for Hanson and his staff to fight against bad habits.
“The records aren't indicative of the strength of their teams,” said Hanson. “They play everybody tough. Sometimes playing these teams, they don't have any fear.
“They have a lot of older guys with a lot to prove in their senior years. Anything can happen in this league.”
The 24 turnovers, in particular, are of some concern. That number is well above the team's season average and was a team-wide epidemic, with seven different players causing multiple turnovers.
“The turnovers tonight were about focus,” said Hanson. “We played too loose.”
As Hanson promised, it could be a week full of hard work for the Thunderbirds to iron out the wrinkles. They'll need to figure how to get better starts to the second half of games to avoid these third quarter comebacks, something that may be difficult to figure out in the practice gym.
Next weekend The Thunderbirds will head to UBC Okanagan for a pair of games while Regina will return home to host Alberta.
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