Vancouver, BC - The UBC Thunderbirds outscored the Vancouver Balloholics 31-10 in the third quarter to pace themselves to a 93-85 victory Thursday night in exhibition action at War Memorial Gymnasium. Conor Morgan had a monster night for the Thunderbirds scoring 33 points.
The Balloholics, a semi-pro team, feature former university players from British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Ontario, Washington, and France.
Morgan, who missed all of last season due to injuries, finished the night 14-of-20 shooting, including three three-pointers and a number of big dunks. He also added seven rebounds.
"He is a tough match-up," said UBC head coach Kevin Hanson. "His height and length make him tough to guard. Put a perimeter guy on him, he goes inside, put a post player on him, he goes outside, plus he also gets points in transition. Conor is very capable of having some big nights and if he can be a leader for us on the defensive end of the court, he can cause a lot of match up problems going the other way."
UBC was up by as many as 30 points in the fourth quarter before Hanson went to his bench. The Balloholics would not go away quietly though going on a 21-4 run to cut the lead to 13 points, 86-73. The Thunderbirds would hold on for the 93-85 victory, despite being outscored 33-17 in the final frame.
"For most of the game I was pleased with our offensive output," said Hanson. "We are sharing the basketball better then in recent years as we have a lot of guys capable of putting points up. I thought we became a little bit complacent with the big lead in the fourth quarter, but at the same time when you are playing a team with that much offensive punch games are going to have runs. I just don't like ending the game on the run they had."
The Thunderbirds opened up an early 7-3 lead after Tommy Nixon hit a three pointer. The Balloholics though would take advantage of UBC's sloppy play on the defensive end to hit some easy baskets. Rei Jensen converted on a hoop and harm to give the visitors a 15-14 advantage. They would extend the lead to four after Brody Greig hit a buzzer beater from half court to end the first quarter and put the Balloholics up 25-21.
UBC fell behind by as many as eight points in the second quarter as their defensive struggles continued. However, they would battle back outscoring the Balloholics 15-2 to end the first half of play and lead 45-42. Morgan single handedly kept the Thunderbirds in the game in the opening half. He was 8-of-12 from the floor for 18 points. He added five rebounds an a huge block late in the half to keep the Thunderbirds in the lead. Jensen led the visitors with 11 points at the break.
Coming out of the break the Thunderbirds picked up where they left on the second quarter going on a 16-2 run to start the third quarter. Morgan continued to lead the charge for the Thunderbirds scoring nine points in the quarter. UBC got a handle on their defensive woes, limiting the Balloholics to just 10 points in the quarter, while they scored 31 to lead 76-52 after three quarters of play.
Nixon was solid as usual for the Thunderbirds scoring 19 points and adding five rebounds and four assists. Jordan Jensen-Whyte went 6-of-8 from the floor for 14 points and six assists.
The Balloholics had five players in double figures scoring. Mark Perrin led the way with 21 points, Brody Greig had 14, Jensen and Drew Slaght chipped in with 13 points each, and Demitri Harris finished with 10 points on the night.
The Thunderbirds will be back in action next weekend when they host their invitational tournament October 17-18 at War Memorial Gym featuring Western, Windsor, and Thompson Rivers. UBC will play at 3:00 pm on both Friday (Western) and Saturday (Windsor) afternoon. For more details click here.
