VANCOUVER – A shorthanded Thunderbirds team lost 93 to 73 to the Concordia Cavaliers on Thursday night in preseason tournament action at War Memorial Gym.
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TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
The 'Birds were missing second-year wingman
Conor Morgan and point guard
Isaiah Solomon, leaving them shorthanded in terms of ball handlers against the Cavs' high-pressure defensive style. Concordia threw a lot of full-court pressure and double teams at UBC all night, leading to a decisive 35-18 turnover margin which propelled them to the win.
The Cavs led by as many as 32 points in the second quarter thanks to red-hot three-point shooting from Willy Ligon and the rest of the squad. Ligon had 20 first-half points on 6-for-11 shooting behind the arc, and the Cavs were 10-for-22 from three in the first half as a team.
Ligon finished tied for the game-high with 21 points in Concordia's first exhibition tilt of the season. Teammate Adam Herman also had 21 on 8-for-12 shooting, adding a team-high seven rebounds.
After three straight quarters with at least nine turnovers, the 'Birds buckled down in the fourth to make it just a 6-5 turnover edge for the Cavs. They were rewarded by outscoring the visitors 22-17 in the final frame.
David Wagner had nine points in the fourth and led the T-Birds with 18 for the gane on 6-for-8 shooting.
Tommy Nixon added 15 and
Geoff Pippus had 10.
Jordan Jensen-Whyte had eight points, seven rebounds and four assists in 21 minutes, sharing time at point guard with senior
Michael Steele and rookie
Kedar Wright.
Another rookie, 6-foot-8
Harpreet Randhawa, proved to be one of the bright spots for the 'Birds, grabbing a team-high eight rebounds in only 15 minutes of action while adding four points and two assists.
The preseason tournament continues on Friday for both teams, as the Cavaliers take on the Victoria Vikes at 5 p.m., and the T-Birds look to regroup against the Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks at 7 p.m. All games are at War Memorial Gym.
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