CALGARY – Tough defence and big shots at key times was the formula for the Thompson Rivers Wolfpack, as they will move on to the Canada West championship game after defeating the UBC Thunderbirds 72-69 in Jack Simpson Gymnasium at the University of Calgary. The win did two things for the Wolfpack. It ensures they will be in Vancouver for the CIS Final 8 and puts them in contention for their first Canada West championship in men's basketball.
 
"They (Thompson Rivers) executed very well down the stretch," said UBC head coach Kevin Hanson. "We didn't execute as well as we needed to and in these one-possession games that's what it comes down to. They're a good team."
 
Thompson Rivers forward Josh Wolfram got stronger as the game progressed and finished with a gaudy 23 points and 14 rebounds. Guard Reese Pribilsky was clutch in hitting for 17 points.
 
Jordan Jensen-Whyte (Calgary) was a human highlight reel for the Thunderbirds in the losing cause, slicing and cutting his way to 19 points to go along with five assists. Senior forward David Wagner (Kamloops, B.C.) was a force in the paint and dropped in 15 points.
 


Wagner started the game by blistering the score sheet. He set up shop under the Wolfpack hoop and repeatedly scored punishing baskets. With the final seconds winding down in the first quarter the T-Birds had a commanding 19-10 lead.
 
But on the next possession Pribilsky scooted into the key and hit a buzzer-beating runner that seemed to wake up his team.
 
In the second quarter Wolfram started to assert himself. He was deft from inside and mid-range finishing the half with 12 points. Meanwhile, Jensen-Whyte carried the Thunderbirds, hitting several tough shots, including a circus lay-up while parallel to the ground from 10 feet.
 
"I thought Jordan had a good game. He played big minutes because he had to," explained Hanson.
 
At the half UBC still clung to a four-point lead 35-31.
 
But the third quarter belonged to Pribilsky. He nailed two high arcing three pointers, including one with a UBC hand in his face that affected his shot so much it's a surprise the ball didn't get caught in the Canadian flag hanging from the gym rafters. Then with under a minute to play in the quarter and UBC crowding him at the three-point line, Pribilsky drove the cup, took a hard foul and finished. He drilled the free throw and Thompson Rivers had their first and last lead of the game 54-52.
 
The teams traded buckets and stops throughout the final frame, with UBC never quite able to get the go ahead basket. Just to prove how unforgiving sports can be, the T-Birds fate was actually sealed on a great play by Wagner. He battled to keep a rebound alive by boxing out and fighting off Wolfram. He turned and shot, but his lay-up mercilessly circled the cup and popped out. TRU brought the ball up court and Wolfram drilled a three-pointer.
 
UBC had one last chance with five seconds left on the clock to take the lead, but Conor Morgan's (Victoria, B.C) three-point attempt rimmed out, keeping the score 70-69.
 
"The positive thing is we are still moving forward," said Hanson. "There's no problem with motivation for our guys. They are having some reflection right now. They know they need to play better tomorrow."
 
UBC will play a consolation game Saturday, then get ready to host their biggest basketball game in more than forty years, as their CIS Final 8 quarter-final game tips off next Thursday night at UBC. Now Thompson Rivers will be in the bracket as well.