The Matchup

 
It's an early season battle of 2-2 teams when the No. 8 UBC Thunderbirds visit the University of Northern British Columbia Timberwolves for a weekend double header Friday and Saturday, November 10 and 11.
 


It will be the first meeting of the season between the two teams and the first in Prince George since February 2013. Last year the 'Birds earned a pair of dominant wins over the Timberwolves in Vancouver.
 
This weekend's battle tips off on Friday night at 8:00 p.m. PT at the Charles Jago Northern Sport Centre. The rematch goes Saturday at 7:00 p.m. PT.
 

Last Action

 
The 'Birds dropped back to back games in hostile territory as part of the University of Calgary Dinos' home opening weekend in Alberta at Jack Simpson Gym. The 'Birds fell to the Dinos 100-76 and 92-74 last Friday and Saturday.
 
The Timberwolves swept last weekend's double header against the Trinity Western Spartans in Langley.
 

By the Numbers

 
91.5 - UBC has averaged 91.5 points per game through the first four games of the season which ranks second in the Canada West.
 
45 - The number of average total rebounds by the 'Birds which also ranks second in the conference.
 

Players to Watch

 
Conor Morgan (#9, F) - Encouraging signs for the fifth-year forward who played just his second game of the regular season last Saturday and found an early rhythm scoring a team high 30 points. The Victoria product is leading the team in points per game with 23.5.


 
Grant Shephard (#10, F) - After being held to just four points in Saturday's loss, the first-year forward out of Kelowna looks to regain the form that sees him with an impressive team high 66.7 shooting percentage. Shephard is the 'Birds' second leading scorer early in the season averaging 12.5 points per game.
 
 

Coach's Take

 
After dropping both games against the Dinos UBC head coach Kevin Hanson expects another difficult road test against the Timberwolves.
 
"They're a really improved program, they've done a great job up there with new recruits in place," said Hanson. "They're playing hard, they're tough, they're physical, and playing on the road anywhere in our conference is difficult. They had a successful weekend coming off two wins, they've got a lot of confidence going into it and obviously we're a little mentally beat up after taking a couple of losses."
 
Hanson says the coaching staff has prepared the guys to focus on themselves after not doing a good enough job of protecting the basketball led to the setbacks last weekend in Calgary.
 
"Obviously the main thing is turnovers, we had 53 over the two games in Calgary which is way too many," Hanson continued. "That just leads to way too many fast break points on the other side and you're really setting yourself up for failure if you have that many so we're really trying to focus on what we do and see if we can cut down on our turnovers."