Vancouver - The UBC Thunderbirds trailed most of Saturday night in Calgary, but they hit their stride at the right time, outscoring the Dinos 27-14 in the fourth quarter to take the game 74-66 and stay on track for a playoff spot.
After taking a 5-0 lead to start the contest, the T-Birds quickly fell behind and were in a 13-point hole at one time before they mounted their second half comeback.
Tommy Nixon started the third quarter on a personal 7-0 run to get the 'Birds back within striking distance. He ended up scoring 11 of his game-high 20 points in the third, but UBC still trailed by five points entering the fourth.
Trailing 56-49 early in the final quarter, the 'Birds put together an 11-0 run that was sparked by
Jordan Jensen-Whyte, who scored the first six points by slashing to the hoop for two layups and a trip to the free throw line. The 'Birds got a lot of their offence in the second half by going inside and especially from getting to the free throw line. They had 40 attempts as a team at the stripe, knocking down 28, while Calgary went just 11-for-18 at the line.
When that 11-0 run was over, the 'Birds led 61-56 with four minutes to go in the game, and the Dinos never got closer than three points off the lead from there as their offence struggled. Calgary shot 29 per cent from the floor and was a dreadful 5-for-30 from the three point line.
Nixon led the 'Birds with 20 points, adding eight rebounds and three assists, with most of that production coming after halftime.
Kedar Wright scored 17 and made a huge contribution to the rebounding effort for a guard, grabbing nine boards.
Andrew McGuinness and Jensen-Whyte each had nine points.
Jarred Ogungbemi-Jackson led the Dinos with 18 points, but the 'Birds did an excellent job harrassing him defensively, holding the conference's leading scorer and one of the top three-point snipers to a 7-for-23 overall shooting night and 0-for-8 behind the arc. Phillip Barndt had 11 points and 13 rebounds for Calgary.
Calgary falls to 5-13 with their ninth-straight loss, putting them out of the playoff picture with four games remaining.
The T-Birds are back to .500 again at 9-9, keeping them tied with Trinity Western for the fourth and final Pacific Division playoff spot. Next week they return to Vancouver with a great opportunity to solidify their postseason prospects on home court with the last place UBC Okanagan Heat coming to War Memorial for two games on February 7 at 8 p.m. and February 8 at 7 p.m.
-30-
