The Matchup
It's a meeting of Lower Mainland rivals when the No. 7 UBC Thunderbirds (4-2) host the Trinity Western Spartans (0-6) for a weekend double header Friday and Saturday November 17 and 18.
It will be the first meeting of the season between the two teams and the first encounter since the 'Birds earned a pair of convincing victories against the Spartans out in Langley in early February of last season.
This weekend's battle tips off on Friday night at 8 p.m. PT at UBC's War Memorial Gym. The rematch goes Saturday at 7 p.m. PT. Both nights the 'Birds are taking donations for the U SPORTS Shoot for the Cure initiative in partnership with the Canadian Cancer Society.
To donate online or for more information, visit
http://www.cancer.ca/shootforthecure
Last Action
The 'Birds hit triple digits in two victories over the Northern BC Timberwolves on the road last weekend at the Charles Jago Northern Sport Centre in Prince George, B.C. Topping the Timberwolves 100-85 and 104-72 last Friday and Saturday.
The Spartans dropped a pair of decisions to the visiting Victoria Vikes.
By the Numbers
50.7 – UBC enjoys the top-ranked shooting percentage in the Canada West at 50.7 per cent thanks to making 212 of their 418 attempted shots from the field.
95.0 – The number of average points scored per game by the 'Birds which ranks second in the conference.
Players to watch
Phil Jalalpoor (#7, G) – The fifth-year guard was in a groove from beyond the arc last Saturday in Prince George, making seven of his 10, three-point attempts en route to a team-high 34 points. Jalalpoor leads the team in three-point shooting efficiency at 51.4 per cent.
Conor Morgan (#9, F) – Morgan was very efficient in Saturday's win over the Timberwolves, needing just 17 minutes to produce 22 points and six rebounds. The fifth-year Victoria product continues to lead the team in scoring, averaging 22.3 points per game.
Coach's Take
UBC head coach
Kevin Hanson hopes the impressive overall execution shown in back-to-back wins in Prince George will translate to home court success this weekend.
"I think our effort was really good on both sides of the ball," said Hanson. "We had some really good moments, I think some adjustments we made during the flow of the game were quite effective but I was really pleased to see a couple of the senior guys step up.
"
Conor Morgan had a great weekend shooting wise he was very efficient and it was great to sit back as a coach and watch
Phil Jalalpoor get in a zone, he was seven for 10 from three-point range in the second game and was taking some tough shots. We got in a flow and just went with it and got a little less structured, we just ran and I think the guys had a lot of fun playing that game and I was proud of our offensive basketball."
Even though the Spartans are still in search of their first win on the season, Hanson and his team won't be taking the visitors lightly.
"Trinity's always tough, they're a well-coached team, and they've had a tough start to the season but have also played some great teams," Hanson continued. "They've got a few guys that can really shoot the basketball, they're a dangerous team offensively, they're a never quit team, you know you're going to get a defensive battle with them so they're always good entertaining games against Trinity and we're just looking forward to carry on what we built from last weekend."
