CALGARY – The UBC Thunderbirds booked their ticket to the Canada West final and the U SPORTS Final 8 in Ottawa Saturday night with an 82-71 win over the Calgary Dinos inside Jack Simpson Gymnasium.
 
Led by 26 points from fifth-year guard Manroop Clair, the Thunderbirds outscored the Dinos 25-12 in the fourth quarter as Calgary struggled from the field and the free-throw line down the stretch. The result ensures a new Canada West champion in 2020 after back-to-back titles for Calgary.
 
UBC will play the winner of the Alberta-Manitoba semifinal set for Sunday afternoon in Edmonton for the Canada West title next week.
 
"I'm just thrilled," said UBC head coach Kevin Hanson. "To come on the road and in back-to-back years qualify for the national championships is a tough thing to do. It certainly showed the resilience and I think our team has played really well on the road this year.
 
"Obviously they missed Santiago a bit but I thought in the fourth quarter we really showed and stepped up our defence and played a little more aggressive and I think that was the difference."
 
The Dinos played without guard Ezeoha Santiago, who sat with illness.
 

The Thunderbirds started off hot, going up 22-11 on Taylor Browne's steal and basket with just over two and half minutes to go in the opening quarter. But the Dinos closed out the period with three triples to close to 22-20 at the break.
 
Clair scored the first seven points of the second quarter for UBC to put his team up six early. Calgary responded to go ahead 32-31 before the teams went into halftime tied at 38-38.

The home side outscored the 'Birds 22-18 in the third to take a four-point advantage going into the final quarter.
 

 
UBC evened the score at 61-61 early in the fourth on Brian Wallack's basket. The teams were tied three more times (63-63, 66-66, and 68-68) before Grant Shephard's lay-in gave the Thunderbirds an edge they did not relinquish. After a Mason Foreman miss from long distance, Shephard made another layup with just under three minutes remaining in regulation to put his team up 72-68. Brett Layton replied with a bucket for Calgary, but that was as close as the hosts would get.
 
Cohee took over as he poured in the next nine points for UBC to seal the win. He nailed a three-point basket to answer Layton's score, and then converted all six of his shots from the foul line in the final minute. In total, Cohee was 8-for-8 on free throws, part of a 17-of-21 team performance for the T-Birds.
 
In contrast, Calgary struggled with free throws all game, going 10-for-24.
 
The Dinos were led tonight by Layton, who battled through his own illness to post 23 points and nine boards on the night. Third-year Foreman added another 13 to the Dinos effort, while Wharton added 11.
 
"We haven't had our full lineup all year and for us to come into this game without Santiago who has been in the hospital and with Brett having the flu, I think we showed some guts today to give ourselves a chance," noted Dinos coach Dan Vanhooren. "Am I disappointed in the loss? Yes, but I can't be disappointed in the performance because I think the team played well enough to win."
 
While the Thunderbirds get set to play for the conference title, the Dinos will watch the scoreboard and wait. There is one wild card berth available to the national tournament, and the Dinos will need to hold out hope that favourites win the rest of the way across the country to give them a shot at their fifth straight national tournament appearance.
 
The U SPORTS Final 8 goes March 6-8 at TD Place Arena in Ottawa.