VANCOUVER - Graduating senior Jadon Cohee led the UBC Thunderbirds (16-4) to a 91-66 victory over the Winnipeg Wesmen (10-10) to close out the Canada West regular season on a five-game win streak.
 
"It was really nice to have that opportunity to celebrate the fifth-year guys in [Cohee] and [Manroop Clair]," said UBC head coach Kevin Hanson after Senior Night at War Memorial Gym. "Our seniors had great games and it was a good sign that the young guys came in and performed well too. [Jack Cruz-Dumont] had a great game - he really changed the tempo and it's exciting to see the team cohesiveness growing at this time of year."
 
"We knew if we came out and played our game, we'd get a win," said standout guard Jadon Cohee after scoring a game-high 26 points. "We took care of business, so it feels good to finish my UBC career at home on a win."


 
As Cohee enters his final Canada West playoffs, the veteran Langley B.C. native takes pride in mentoring rookie point guard Cruz-Dumont.
 
"[Cruz-Dumont] is going to be an unbelievable player here," said Cohee after the first-year Vancouver College product put up 12 points in the win. "He'll go down as one of the all-time greats here. It's good to see him go off in the minutes he gets...I'm so proud. He's like a little brother to me.
 
"It's all about defence for us in the playoffs," continued Cohee. "We're going to score, but if we can guard and get stops, I think we can take this as far as we want."
 
Getting stops for the 'Birds on Saturday night was fourth-year guard Zack Moore, who matched his season high with 11 rebounds to go along with nine points and was a game-high +22.


 
"His role has changed over the course of the year," said coach Hanson. "[Moore] does so many good things for us with his intangibles and things that don't always show up on the stat sheet...but when we get double-digit rebounding from him it's really a bonus."

?? MBB | At the end of the 3rd, @ubctbirds has a 72-46 lead over @Wesmenathletics. #GoBirdsGo pic.twitter.com/uxWV6b74hC

— UBC Thunderbirds / @UBCTBirds (@ubctbirds) February 9, 2020

 
Moore showed off his creativity on offense in the first quarter with a nifty around-the-back, up-and-under finish to close the frame up 21-11. Cruz-Dumont opened the second quarter with a three at 25-13 and Grant Audu widened the lead with a lay-in at 34-16 before Don Dayrit got a steal and took it to the rim at 36-22. UBC went into halftime up 40-24 and continued the onslaught in the third quarter. Cohee connected from the corner to go up 43-26 and Grant Shephard dropped his first three as the T-Birds poured on the pressure to earn a twenty-point lead midway through the frame. UBC scored a whopping 32 points in the third quarter to take a 72-46 lead into the fourth.


 
Billy Yaworsky drained a three for the Wesmen at 72-49, and scored 13 points in the final frame, but the visitors were unable to get stops as the 'Birds exploded to a 30-point lead at 84-54. Cohee hit another trey at 87-56 before leaving the game alongside his fellow graduating senior, Clair, to a standing ovation as UBC cruised to a 91-66 win.
 
Clair finished with 9 points, five boards and three steals in his final game at War Memorial Gym, while Shephard scored 12 points with seven rebounds.
 
Yaworsky led the Wesmen with 15 points, adding five rebounds, while Narcisse Ambanza totalled 14 points and two steals in the loss.
 
The 'Birds will now enjoy a first-round bye as they prepare for the Canada West quarter-finals beginning February 21.
 
"We've been saying all along it didn't matter where we end up," said Hanson as his team awaits the final playoff seedings. "We know we'll be on the road, and this year we played better on the road, so we're looking forward to it...no matter who it is."
 
Winnipeg will also await the final standings as they begin their postseason with a Canada West play-in game next weekend.