VANCOUVER – The UBC Thunderbirds men's basketball team won its two games this weekend, which served as a final tune-up before the start of Canada West league play. UBC beat the Mt. Royal Cougars 87-71 on Friday and then outscored the Geoducks of The Evergreen State College 119-76 on Saturday.
 
Guard Jordan Jensen-Whyte (Calgary) was a perfect 8-for-8 shooting from the field on Friday, and finished the night with 21 points and seven rebounds. Forward Patrick Simon (Port Coquitlam, B.C.) chipped in 15 points and eight rebounds off the bench. Dominic Gilbert (Sydney, Australia) scored 14 points and had three steals.
 
The Thunderbirds used a 13-2 late third-quarter run to pull away from the visitors from Calgary.
 
MRU's Glen Yang hit a long-distance shot to bring his team to within two points of UBC at 47-45.
 
Jensen-Whyte then hit a foul shot before Simon made a layup with three minutes left in the third to spark the run. Gilbert then made a fast-break layup, got a steal and hit a three-ball on the same possession to give UBC a double-digit lead for the first time.
 
A tip-in by Luka Zaharijevic (Vancouver) made it 60-47 and Mt. Royal never cut the deficit to single digits after that.
 
On Saturday, the T-Birds rode an explosive first half performance to victory against the visiting Evergreen State Geoducks, claiming a 119-76 decision as they closed out their exhibition schedule.
 
Big man Zaharijevic led the 'Birds with 21 points on 10-of-11 shooting from the field, adding five rebounds for good measure. Forward Conor Morgan (Victoria, B.C.) notched a double-double, 20 points and 10 boards, while David Wagner (Kamloops, B.C.) notched 18 points of his own.
 
The Geoducks jumped out to an early 5-1 lead, but after UBC knotted it up 5-5 just 2:16 into the contest, Evergreen State wouldn't get another chance to reclaim the advantage. UBC rode the hot hand of Zaharijevic, who knocked down four-of-five field goal attempts, and Wagner, who netted nine of his 18 points in the opening quarter, as they broke the game open, stretching the lead to 31-15 by the end of the first quarter.
 
Morgan started to make his impact felt in the second frame, after only sinking one bucket in the opening 10 minutes. With UBC up 42-25 midway through the quarter, Morgan posted 10 of UBC's next 11 points, with a lone free throw from UBC freshman Roger Milne (Winnipeg) the only exception. The streak pushed the T-Birds' lead to 53-33. Each side added a single bucket before the half, making the score 55-35 for the 'Birds at the break.
 
The third quarter saw the 'Birds continue to dominate, even as regular starters began seeing less and less action as the UBC lead increased. Morgan and guard A.J. Holloway (Tacoma, Wash.) each posted eight points in the frame, while veteran 2-guard Jensen-Whyte knocked down a pair of threes as the 'Birds continued to overwhelm Evergreen State.
 
In the final frame, UBC head coach Kevin Hanson got guys off the bench some significant minutes. Simon came in and posted seven points, while Holloway slashed his way through the Geoduck defence for another eight points. Zaharijevic had his way in the Evergreen State paint, as he put up another 11 points. The UBC dominance was at its peak with after Zaharijevic's lone free throw of the afternoon, which brought UBC's lead to 46, at 114-68.
 
The Thunderbirds now turn to preparations for Canada West conference play, which will begin next weekend with home games Nov. 6-7 against the Alberta Golden Bears at War Memorial Gym. The series is part of the UBC Thunderbirds Super Weekend.