The cross Rocky Mountain rivalry will be renewed as the No. 4 UBC Thunderbirds will visit the No. 2 defending conference and national champion Calgary Dinos in the Canada West Final this weekend in Calgary.
 
The single game championship will tipoff Saturday, March 2 at 12:00 p.m. PT at Jack Simpson Gym and will act as a precursor for both teams who have also qualified to compete in the U SPORTS national basketball championships that take place next week in Halifax.
 
The Canada West number three seed T-Birds did not meet the conferences number one seed Dinos during the regular season which means Saturday's matchup marks their first encounter since last year's CW semifinal. The matchups took place in late February and saw the Dinos win the best-of-three series 2-0 thanks to back to back wins of 98-71 and 87-84, to end the 'Birds season.


 

Last Action

 
Last weekend the T-Birds were on the road to engage in another physical conference battle and upset the number two seed Alberta Bears 2-1 in their best-of-three semifinal series. UBC opened with a determined defensive effort in earning a 74-62 game one victory ahead of falling the next night 92-86 which forced a deciding game three. In the winner take all affair the 'Birds bounced back to grind out a gutsy 84-78 win to advance to the CW final while also guaranteeing a spot in the U SPORTS final eight.
 
The Dinos swept their second straight playoff series last weekend on home court in dismantling the conference number four seed Saskatchewan Huskies by convincing scores of 97-63 and 117-77. With the victory, the Dinos remained undefeated on the season with a 20-0 Canada West record.
 

MBB | @ubctbirds 4th year guard @JadonCohee12 previews the squads upcoming @CanadaWest Championship Final vs @UCDinos Saturday, March 2, 12:00 p.m. PT.#GoBirdsGo

pic.twitter.com/IXWSJ0mnrK

— UBC Thunderbirds / @UBCTBirds (@ubctbirds) February 28, 2019

 

Players to Watch

 
Jadon Cohee – (#12, G) The fourth-year guard combined for 41 points and nine rebounds in both victories to help secure the semifinal series victory over the Golden Bears last weekend. The Langley native was consistent in scoring a game high in both wins beginning with pouring in 20 points and adding seven rebounds in game one's 74-62 decision over Alberta. Two nights later Cohee also hit a game high 21 points to secure the series for the visitors.
 
Manroop Clair – (#10, G) The fourth-year guard was the lone player to record a double double in the T-Birds series clinching game three win over Alberta. The Surrey native matched Cohee's game three scoring high of 21 points with help from draining four, three-pointers while also registering a game high 10 rebounds to help close out the series.


 

Coach's Comments

 
"You certainly learn a lot about your team when you play consecutive best-three-game series with six games in a span of 10 days," said UBC head coach Kevin Hanson. "It's a lot of reps on both the defensive and offensive side and each series were great battles and I felt our guy's showed character and got better in each one and I certainly feel we're heading in the right direction."


 
Hanson then sized up the weekend's competition.
 
"The Dinos are a very similar team to last year, they're running similar stuff," added Hanson. "We've got a pretty good handle on them and they obviously have a pretty good handle on us. You know these are games you really wish you could play throughout the season to make sure that you are playing to your peak, it's a traditional rivalry game between two of the older Universities in the conference so it all adds up to a great opportunity to play for the Canada West Final once again."