A diverse offensive attack proved to be the difference, as the UBC Thunderbirds used an effective inside-outside game to beat the University of Northern British Columbia Timberwolves 88-66 on Saturday, November 16^th, 2019 in Prince George, B.C.
 
In the first quarter, it was a tale of two offenses. The Thunderbirds were using a well-balanced attack and making their looks, while the TWolves couldn't seem to make a basket. After ten minutes of play, UBC held a 30-16 lead, with four of their players scoring five or more points.
 
In the second quarter, the TWolves' shooting woes continued against a long, athletic defense that forced them into shot clock situations. Freshman Fareed Shittu electrified the Northern Sport Centre crowd with a massive dunk, but the cheers were hard to come by. At halftime, the Thunderbirds held a 54-30 lead. They were paced by Grant Shephard's 14 points and eight rebounds, while Tyrell Laing led UNBC with 13 points.
 
The Timberwolves looked to cut into the deficit in the second half, pushing the pace and attacking the Thunderbirds. However, every time they put a dent in the margin, UBC responded. Manroop Clair made three-pointers on back to back possessions, before Zack Moore added one of his own. 
 
Todd Jordan went to his bench for much of the fourth quarter, giving some young players valuable experience against the T-Birds. Sophomore Chris Ross and freshman Dylon Matthews made treys, while Saymon Loki scored the first points of his Canada West career. The Thunderbirds continued to cause matchup problems for the undersized TWolves, as Lincoln Rosebush asserted himself in the paint with offensive rebounds and putbacks.
 
"It was really good to see the young guys always competing," said UNBC's Hokanson. "I know it's hard sometimes in "garbage time" to stay competitive, but I was really proud of how the young guys showed out during their time on the court today."
 
When the final buzzer sounded, UNBC fell by an 88-66 margin, falling to 3-3 on the year, while the Thunderbirds improved to 3-3 on the young season.
 
"This weekend was definitely good for getting our mojo back together. Hopefully we can carry that forward for next week and the week after that," said Shephard. "We've just got to get rested and get focused, back to practice, get our game plans together during the week, and go execute." 


 
Shephard made the biggest impact for the Thunderbirds, going for 21 points and 13 rebounds, while Clair added 17 points, including four three-pointers made. Jadon Cohee played distributor with 11 points, ten assists, and seven boards, while Moore chipped in with 11 points.
 
"We have so many pieces on our team. A lot of guys could have egos and be mad at who gets to shoot the ball more," said Shephard. "This season I'm just trying to do game-to-game what's better for our team, whether that just means setting screens, or if I'm going to be looked at as one of leading scorers, then I'll do that too."
 
For the Timberwolves, Laing paced the offensive attack with 25 points and 4 rebounds, while Vova Pluzhnikov had 12 points and five assists, and Fareed Shittu added nine points and seven rebounds off the bench.
 
"I thought we did a great job in stretches, but it really needs to be a 40 minute effort for us every single game going out here," said Hokanson, postgame. "They're not unbeatable. I would tell our young guys to keep pushing it against them, because one day the wall is going to break."