VANCOUVER – The UBC Thunderbirds had no problems scoring the basketball Friday night at War Memorial Gym. The 'Birds put 94 points on the scoreboard against the Lethbridge Pronghorns' 81.
 
Conor Morgan finished with 32 points and 8 rebounds, as the fourth year forward continues to show he will be elevating his game to new levels in 2016.  AJ Holloway had a strong game for the 'Birds, dropping 12 point in only 15 minutes of court time, adding 5 rebounds and 5 assists. Scott Mazutinec was the high man for the 'Horns with 14 points in only 7 minutes, including a blistering 4 of 5 from three-point land.
 

UBC 94- Lethbridge 81. A good win but you can't give up 45 in a half. Looking to clean things up for Sunday rematch pic.twitter.com/0kvhd6YFlm

— Kevin Hanson (@UBCCoachHanson) October 15, 2016

 
But the 13-point margin of victory wasn't enough to satisfy UBC Head Coach Kevin Hanson. Hanson is acutely aware the 'Birds need to play a more defensive style of basketball if they want to compete with the big fish in the CIS pond and improve on last year's fifth place finish at the national championships.
 
"We weren't very good defensively in the second half by giving up 45 points," said Hanson. "Certainly we did not follow the game plan and we do have to learn to finish off games."
 
Morgan agreed with his coach. Showing much more poise on the court from a year ago, along with more muscle from a regimented off-season of weight training, the prolific scoring forward wasn't pleased with how the game ended, despite the numbers on the scoreboard.
 
"That last four or five minutes are the most important of the game," said Morgan. "It can decide a winner or loser, so we have to be better in those moments."


 
UBC rolled through all twelve players on their bench. Of the three rookies in the line-up, Isaiah Familia looked the most comfortable by dropping 8 points and firing up 7 three-pointers in just 15 minutes of work.
 
"We've been really excited about how he's played," said Hanson. "He looks like he's a real gamer. I think if he keeps developing the way he's developing he'll be a great Thunderbird for years to come."
 
UBC will have 48 hours to shore up their late game defence as the two teams will play again on Sunday at 3 PM inside War Memorial Gym.