VANCOUVER – The UBC Thunderbirds claimed their sixth straight win to close out the regular season on Saturday night, toppling the Winnipeg Wesmen 79-67 at War Memorial Gym.
 
Five 'Birds hit double digits on the afternoon, headlined by fifth-year senior David Wagner's (Kamloops, B.C.) 17 points leading the way. The veteran Thunderbird also picked up seven rebounds in a terrific individual performance.
 
And on a night where the 'Birds honoured Wagner as their lone graduating senior, the performance was a fitting one, at that.
 
"I think the ovation that he got from the fans and his teammates at the end of the contest really shows what kind of person he is and the contributions he's made to the program," said UBC head coach Kevin Hanson of his long-time forward. "We're all really with the way he was able to go out. That was one of his best games of the year."


 
Wagner got some solid support on offence, as Jordan Jensen-Whyte (Calgary), with 14 points, while Will Ondrik (Vernon, B.C.), with 13, Conor Morgan (Victoria, B.C.), with 11, and Phil Jalalpoor (Shifferstadt, Germany), with 10, all hit double-digits.
 
Jelane Pryce and Jamar Farley both scored 15 points to lead the visiting Wesmen. Marcello Kambola chipped in with 13, while Ryan Oirbans scored nine points and a team-best 10 rebounds.
 
The 'Birds did the bulk of their damage from beyond the arc in the opening frame, going 4-of-13 from distance. Of those four triples, Patrick Simon (Port Coquitlam, B.C.) had two of them for the 'Birds, as he led the club with six points in the first quarter.
 
For Winnipeg, the situation was the inverse, as they put up 12 points from inside the paint in the opening frame. Guard Jelane Pryce put up a game-high eight points in the first 15 minutes, followed closely by forward Oirbans, who notched six.
 
The inside-outside battle ended up pretty close after the first frame, as UBC held a narrow 20-19 lead.
 
Midway through the second frame, Jalalpoor pulled off a nifty highlight, picking off a pass from the Wesmen, racing up the floor, and dishing off to Ondrik for the easy layup.
 
That play from Jalalpoor was part of a 9-0 UBC run that saw the 'Birds build up a 35-25 advantage.
 
The Wesmen then went on a 9-2 streak of their own to end the half, hitting three shots from downtown and closing the gap to just 37-34. William Sesay and Connor Ward hit consecutive three-point baskets. After a UBC field goal, Farley also converted from distance to conclude the half.
 
A point of concern for the 'Birds in the first frame was the amount of turnovers, as UBC gave up the rock 15 times in the first half. By comparison, Winnipeg gave it up just eight times.
 
Morgan got the crowd at War Memorial on their feet early in the third quarter, as the first bucket of the frame was a thunderous alley-oop from the 6-foot-9 forward. Ondrik was credited with the assist on the play.
 
Minutes later, at the tail end of an 8-0 UBC run, the Ondrik-to-Morgan connection activated once more, as Morgan skied for another Ondrik lob, bringing it down on a vicious dunk. Morgan's second throwdown of the quarter put the 'Birds up 47-39.
 
The Wesmen battled hard to close the frame, with Farley and Denzel Soliven scoring the final two baskets of the third to again close the gap to a single bucket, down just 53-51.
 
Wagner continued to make his presence felt on the inside throughout the third quarter, as the 6-foot-8 forward finished the third frame with 15 points, the highest mark.
 
At the start of the final frame, the 'Birds came out firing on all cylinders. The home side reeled off an 11-1 run to open the quarter, including five points from Morgan and a highlight-reel steal-turned-layup from guard Taylor Browne (Surrey, B.C.).
 
The 'Birds opened up a 16-point lead with two minutes remaining in the contest, and this time, there was no comeback in the cards for Winnipeg.
 
UBC will get a bye next week before hosting the Lethbridge Pronghorns in a best-of-three Canada West quarter-final series at War Memorial Gym.
 
Games 1 and 2 will be played on Thursday, March 3 and Friday, March 4, respectively. A third contest, if necessary, will be on Saturday, March 5. Tip off for all three is at 7 p.m.

UBC's stretch run to March is on, as the 'Birds prepare to host the CIS Men's Basketball Final 8, which will see the absolute best basketball players in Canada make their way to the UBC campus. Get your tournament packages and single tickets now, as the national championship is set to take place from March 17-20 at the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre. UBC will be playing in a quarter-final game at 8 p.m. Get your tickets now.