Edmonton, AB - UBC completed a stunning comeback in the fourth quarter to win game 2 of their quarter final series 79-78 over Alberta, to force a third and decisive game.
Just like the night before, the Thunderbirds started the game with a lot of hustle and some good defensive energy. It was four minutes before the Golden Bears registered their first point, a Jordan Baker free-throw. UBC did a good job of containing the Bears in the opening quarter, limiting them to just 17 points. They did well at preventing Alberta from scoring, but found trouble generating their own baskets. In a low-scoring first frame the 'Birds would have been disappointed to yield an 8-2 lead and let Alberta lead by seven points after ten minutes.
UBC's zone defense was very successful at denying Alberta any penetration towards the basket. The Golden Bears were settling for long-range attempts and finding they were fortunate in the number that were dropping. Joel Friesen, Sahr Saffa and Czar Robotham were all on target for Alberta with 3-pointers early on.
Alberta finished the first half ahead 36-28. Half of their points came from beyond the arc as they continued to rely on the long-range shots.
Kedar Wright led all scorers through the first 20 minutes with 10 points.
David Wagner who played through visible pain last night was unable to suit up for the second game of the series. His interior defense would normally be missed but the team took it upon themselves to collapse into the paint and protect the rim in his absence. Their rim protection was excellent in the early stages. Jordan Baker, the Bears leading scorer this season, was held to 11 points last night and just six in the opening half this evening.
Baker was making his presence felt elsewhere however; he dished out six assists as well as having an almighty battle on the glass with
Brylle Kamen at both ends. Kamen finished with 12 boards and Baker grabbed 10.
The Thunderbirds pulled themselves back within three points early in the third quarter. Wright appeared quite comfortable shouldering much of the scoring load and he knocked down a couple of tough shots to keep his team within touch.
Alberta answered UBC's rally with a burst of their own. A 13-3 run extended their lead as the Thunderbirds found it hard to deal with offensive depth of the Bears starting five and bench players.
The game's momentum was now swinging back and forth. Every time Alberta appeared to pull away, the Thunderbirds would put together a nice little spell and close the gap – only for Alberta to go on another scoring run again.
UBC trailed by just nine points at the end of the third quarter as coach
Kevin Hanson implored his charges to keep mounting a comeback.
Tommy Nixon became the focal point of the offense down the final stretch. He was doing a good job of receiving the ball on the wings and driving to the basket to draw fouls. Nixon got to the line 14 times in the fourth quarter and knocked down 12 of those attempts.
Miraculously the 'Birds found themselves down just one point with 1:30 to go in the game. Nixon's clutch shooting from the charity stripe and some welcome Alberta turnovers gave them the chance to take the lead for the first time since the opening quarter.
Nixon would go to the line again, this time for three attempts as he was fouled shooting beyond the 3-point line. He missed the first, but was on target with the next two. UBC led 73-72 with under a minute to go.
Baker was fouled in the paint collecting a pass and threw up a quick shot but the resulting basket was not counted. Alberta's coach was handed a technical foul as he screamed for the referees to award Baker a three-point play.
Baker knocked down both free-throws and Wright did the same, courtesy of the technical foul. UBC still held a one point lead.
23.4 seconds were left on the clock and the Bears had to foul in order to get the ball back.
Andrew McGuinness hit both free-throws to extend the lead to three points.
Alberta came back up the floor and Baker was fouled competing for an offensive rebound. He was successful with both of his shots from the line and closed the gap back to just one point.
With possession back in UBC hands, the Golden Bears were forced to foul once more.
Kedar Wright missed the first but hit the second attempt to give the 'Birds a two point lead with less than 10 seconds to hold on.
Todd Henengouwen was found open by Friesen directly under the basket and he layed the ball up to tie the game with 1.1 seconds left on the scoreboard.
The game looked destined for overtime as coach Hanson called a timeout to draw up one more play.
Isaiah Solomon was given the duty of inbounding and he found Nixon with a jump-shot to win the game. His effort cannoned off the backboard but he was judged to have been fouled in the shooting motion and was sent to the line once more. He needed to hit just one of his two shots. Nerveless, he sunk his first attempt to give his team a spectacular win. The final score read 79-78 to UBC as they outscored their opponents 29-19 in the final quarter.
Kedar Wright finished with 28 points, a career best night for the first year guard from Toronto.
The sensational come-from-behind win extends the Thunderbirds season for at least one more day as they are to set to take on Alberta again tomorrow with the winners going through to the Canada West Final Four tournament.
Tip-off is at 3:00 pm PST and can be watched online at
canadawest.tv
