ABBOTSFORD, B.C. – UBC men's basketball head coach Kevin Hanson earned his 313th Canada West conference victory as his Thunderbirds battled to an 80-63 win against the Fraser Valley Cascades in Abbotsford, B.C., Friday evening.

The result drew Hanson even with former Alberta Golden Bears bench boss Don Horwood for the most regular-season wins in Canada West men's basketball history. He has a chance to take sole possession of the record on Saturday as the teams wrap up the weekend series at the Envision Financial Athletic Centre (7 p.m., CanadaWest.tv presented by Co-op).

On Friday, the Thunderbirds turned in a stingy defensive performance after halftime, limiting the Cascades to 22 points in the second half and 32.9 per cent shooting from the field for the game, boosting their record to 9-2 in Canada West play while dropping the Cascades to 3-6.
 

"I'd like to give our defence full credit for it, but I certainly think they also missed some open shots at the same time," Hanson said afterward. "I think tonight was a little bit of feeling out for each other – the first game back after the December break can be a tough one. Fatigue can play a factor, you're not in rhythm and sync with each other. But obviously you'll take the numbers defensively that we held them to in the second half."

The Cascades had a solid start, leading 12-10 after Sukhjot Bains's three-pointer, but the T-Birds responded with a 15-3 run – highlighted by five points from Jadon Cohee – to seize control. The hosts hung tough in the second quarter, and were within 49-41 at the break.

UBC locked it down on defence in the third, holding UFV to 12 points in the frame. They put together a 12-2 run over the last three minutes to take a 70-53 lead into the fourth, and they kept the Cascades at bay from there.
The T-Birds shot 36.1 per cent from the field, but did most of their damage at the foul line. They amassed a 31-8 edge in free throw attempts, hitting 26 (83.9 per cent).
 

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What a great start to our 2020! Kev Hanson is just one W away from making history with the most wins in @canadawestinsta! We'll find out tomorrow at 7PM in the UFV Envision Athletic Centre or on canadawesttv ?? See ya there??

A post shared by UBC Men's Basketball (@ubc_mbb) on Jan 3, 2020 at 11:12pm PST

UBC sent aggressive double-teams at UFV stars Parm Bains and Sukhjot Bains throughout the game, but the Cascades' supporting cast was unable to take full advantage of the extra space afforded to them.

Manroop Clair's 18 points were a game high for UBC, and Grant Shephard (15 points), Cohee (14), Zack Moore (12) and Taylor Browne (10) also scored in double figures. Cohee led the squad with eight rebounds while Shephard topped the free throws (seven) and assists (four) categories for the T-Birds.