VANCOUVER – The No. 2 UBC Thunderbirds jumped out to a 11-0 lead and never looked back, beating the UNBC Timberwolves 93-69 in Canada West men's basketball action in Prince George on Friday.
 
"We were very happy with the way we started the game," said UBC head coach Kevin Hanson.  "We knew they were fighting for their playoff lives and would be aggressive at the start of the game, so it was great to see our guys fired up and be able to set the tone early."
 
The UBC attack was balanced and relentless with six players in double digits. Brylle Kamen (Paris, France) led the way with 21 points and 12 rebounds.
 
The T-Birds led 34-14 after the first quarter. O'Brian Wallace (Toronto) hit a couple of three-pointers, while Tommy Nixon (Vancouver) scored seven points off the bench in the opening period.  Nixon ended the game with 13 points, all in the first half, and Wallace finished with 12.  UBC took a 56-28 lead into the half.

The T-Birds dominated in almost all aspects of the game.
 
"We rebounded the ball well and that helped initiate our transition game," said Hanson, whose team out-rebounded UNBC by a count of 48-27. "Another huge factor was the points in the paint. Anytime you outscore someone 36-6 in the paint, you are doing something right.

"They are a very good shooting team and we will have to do something about that tomorrow. We can't allow teams to hit 14 threes on us, that simply just doesn't cut it."
 
UNBC did put on a strong performance in the third quarter, outscoring UBC 21-16, but the T-Birds continued to build on their lead, increasing it to 31 points on a Conor Morgan (Victoria) triple halfway through the final quarter.
 
Jordan Jensen-Whyte (Calgary) was UBC's second-leading scorer with 15 points while David Wagner (Kamloops, B.C.) also had 13 to match Nixon. Fifth-year guard Doug Plumb (Pitt Meadows, B.C.) added another 12 points.
 
UBC hit 35 of its 70 shots from the field and made 19 of 23 shots from the free throw line.
 
The win extends UBC's winning streak to 11 games. The team improves to 17-2 in Canada West conference play.
 
Hanson also wanted to extend thanks to the family of former T-Bird Nathan Yu, who flew back from Hong Kong recently. The entire Yu family was supporting UBC in the midst of a mostly hostile crowd in Prince George.
 
The two teams will play the second game of their double-header on Saturday with the tipoff set for 8 p.m.