VANCOUVER – Following a record-breaking weekend the UBC Thunderbirds (11-3) go in search of a third straight victory when they meet the rival University of Victoria Vikes (9-3) for a Legends Cup home-and-home matchup. It all begins Thursday, January 16 with an 8:00 p.m. PT tip off at War Memorial Gym ahead of the rematch two nights later in Victoria on Saturday, January 18, at 7:00 p.m. PT.
The teams last met in early November of 2018 where it was the T-Birds managing the home-and-home meeting sweep by scores of 89-63 at UBC followed by a closer 87-81 decision in Victoria.
UBC comes into action sitting in a three-way tie for second-place along with Alberta and Manitoba in the Canada West standings while Victoria isn't far behind occupying fifth spot overall. It promises to be a good matchup with something having to give as the T-Birds enjoy the second highest scoring average in the Canada West at 93.5 points per game, while UVic is the stingiest team in the conference giving up an average of just 69 points per game.
Last Action
The 'Birds earned back to back home court victories against the Trinity Western Spartans in what was a milestone weekend for the program. Thursday's 109-102 decision saw head coach
Kevin Hanson become the all-time winningest coach in Canada West regular season men's basketball history with 314 victories. Hanson in his 20
th season as head coach broke the previous record held by former Alberta Golden Bears coach Don Horwood. Game one featured five T-Birds reaching double scoring figures while
Jadon Cohee,
Grant Audu and
Grant Shephard all registered 22 points, Shephard just narrowly missed the double double in grabbing nine rebounds.
Saturday's action saw UBC do an even better job of sharing the ball with six players scoring in double digit figures en route to a 124-94 win over TWU. Cohee led the way with 26 points while Shephard completed the double-double he just missed out on the night before thanks to 21 points and 11 rebounds en route to earning the Canada West men's third star of the week honours.
UVic split their last series visiting the Saskatchewan Huskies, opening last Friday with a 78-71 loss before rebounding nicely for a 94-74, 20 point win the following evening. Doing the damage for the Vikes included Mathew Ellis with 26 points and just behind him Scott Kellum who was lethal from long range in hitting seven of his twelve three-point attempts and a 25-point showing.
Coach's Take
UBC head coach
Kevin Hanson saw some bright spots with his squad in their second weekend of action in 2020.
"Last weekend we shared the ball and as a result had well rounded scoring," said Hanson. "It was a fast-paced game with both teams having a high number of possessions despite the high numbers of free throws. We have started out the new year by being aggressive and this is something that we will continue to look to do. We still need to change our focus on the defensive side of the ball so this is our focus this week."
Hanson also looked ahead to what he expects to see from the weekend competition.
"UVIC has been having a good year and we are looking forward to the games, we haven't had a lot of games at home this year so we need to take advantage of home court and our crowd. Last weekend we found out a few things about our team and how we want to play. We are hoping that we can transfer our week of practice on to the court on Thursday night."
