Vancouver – The No. 6 UBC Thunderbirds continue their postseason this weekend when they hit the road to open their best-of-three Canada West semifinal series against the host No. 5 Alberta Golden Bears with a spot in the Canada West Final, and a berth into the 2019 U SPORTS Final 8 on the line.
It all gets started Friday, February 22 at 6:00 p.m. PT followed by game two Saturday, February 23 with a 6:00 p.m. PT tipoff. If a game three is necessary it will take place Sunday, February 24 with an earlier 4:00 p.m. PT start time, all contests will be played at the Saville Community Centre in Edmonton.
Both squads are very familiar with each other having met just three weeks ago to conclude the Canada West regular season in Edmonton. The Golden Bears opened the month of February with a weekend sweep of the undermanned T-Birds, winning 85-75 on the Friday night before getting past the visitors 87-79 on the Saturday evening.
Last Action
Last weekend the conferences third ranked T-Birds got past the sixth seed UFV Cascades 2-1 in a spirited best-of-three quarter-final series at War Memorial Gym. The Cascades struck first with lethal long-range shooting in game one, leaning on a season high 17 three-pointers to stun the 'Birds 92-79. UBC responded in the next two must win outings thanks to a combination of clutch veteran scoring combined with focused defensive efforts in back to back wins of 85-58 and 87-79 to close out the series.
The Golden Bears were also pushed to three games on home court in their semi-final matchup meeting against the University of Lethbridge Pronghorns. The Pronghorns opened the series with a narrow 76-75 upset victory over Alberta before the hosts rebounded for victories of 86-70 and 86-68 to advance to the next round.
Players to Watch
Grant Shephard – (#10, F) The second-year forward combined for 65 points and 28 rebounds in the three-game series vs UFV which included 21 points and 10 rebounds in game two's 85-58 victory. Shephard finished the regular season with a conference leading 66.7 field goal percentage.
Manroop Clair – (#3, G) The fourth-year guard returned from injury to combine for 62 points and 12 rebounds in the three-game quarter-final win over the Cascades. The sharpshooting Surrey B.C. native was especially effective in the game-three series clinching victory scoring a game high 29 points with help from draining five of nine three-point attempts.
Coach's Comments
"I think going three games in quarter-final series was good for us," said UBC coach
Kevin Hanson." I think dropping that opening game really woke us up in terms of putting our backs up against the wall and I think you saw a different side to our guys in terms of stepping and competing. UFV came in and had the passion, desire and grit, they came in and took that game from us and I give them credit for how hard they played and how well they shot the ball that night with 17 three-pointers but I was very pleased with how our guys responded to play with confidence and show their pedigree. We're happy with the result and I certainly think we did grow from the three very intense and physical games and I think that will prepare us well for the Alberta style of play."
Hanson also looked ahead to this weekend's meeting with Alberta.
"Alberta is one of the more physical teams in the conference," added Hanson. "Led by Brody Clark (the Canada West regular season leader in average rebounds per game 10.9 and third leading scorer averaging 19.8 ppg) who certainly is one of the most talented players in the country, he's a tough load to handle for anyone so our team defence has to be much better than it was last time. We were not one hundred percent healthy when we played them three weeks ago and nor were they so there will be a couple different faces on each side of the ball, we know each other very well and have a long history with Alberta and I think it's going to be some great basketball."
