The University of British Columbia Athletics

VANCOUVER – The UBC Thunderbirds took the first leg of their rivalry series with the Trinity Western Spartans 82-72 on Friday thanks to their tough interior defence and a pair of double-double performances from David Wagner and Tommy Nixon.

BOX SCORE
 
The jumpers weren't falling very often for either side on Friday, and especially not until the fourth quarter. Trinity Western was shooting under 27 percent from the field after three quarters, with a 2-for-27 mark at the three-point line.
 
Things weren't a whole lot better for UBC's shooters, but the 'Birds were able to turn their defence into transition offence to take a 42-30 lead at the half.
 
"In the first half we got some easy transition hoops off their early shots," said UBC head coach Kevin Hanson. "Trinity didn't shoot the ball well in the first half so that led to us getting the ball in transition, but that team's not going to shoot that poorly very often."
 
The Spartans finished the game shooting 32 percent overall and 20 percent from three, hitting on eight of 39 attempts from long distance.
"We're trying to contain and force teams to do things they don't normally do," Hanson said, referring to the high volume of perimeter shots the Spartans took. "I thought our guys played well, stuck to the game plan, and it paid off in the end."
 
The 'Birds tripped themselves up early on with some foul trouble in their front court, as Wagner, Nixon and Tonner Jackson all took two early fouls. But all three recovered nicely in the second half, combining for 33 points and 19 rebounds over the final two quarters of play.
 
Wagner led all players with 26 points on 10-for-16 shooting and 14 rebounds, including eight on the offensive glass, which helped the 'Birds get some cheap second chance points when the shots weren't falling easily.
 
Another key contributor for UBC was second-year point guard Jordan Jensen-Whyte, who has seen his workload increase sharply while his partner at the point, fellow second-year Isaiah Solomon, sits out with an injury. Jensen-Whyte played a game-high 39 minutes, racking up 12 points, including a pair of impressive transition dunks to energize the crowd and the team.
 
"We're getting a lot from him. For a second-year kid he does a lot for us," Hanson said. "He's running the show offensively and playing almost 40 minutes, so he's really coming into his own as a leader, and when he plays energized, he's really good."
 
The T-Birds took a big lead into the fourth, but the Spartans chopped it all the way down to seven in the dying minutes after a four-point play from Justin Bakuteka and a leaner from Mark Perrin. But a dagger three from Nixon in response ended the comeback bid for the visitors.
 
Bakuteka had 17 points as the only Spartan to buck the bad shooting trend, knocking down four of seven threes while the rest of the squad went 4-for-32. Tyus Allen added 12 points and Anthony Ottley had 11.
 
UBC improved to 2-1 with the win, while Trinity falls to 1-2. These teams duel it out again on Saturday night at War Memorial Gym with a 7 p.m. tipoff time.
 
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