The UBC Thunderbirds overpowered the Trinity Western Spartans (0-5) in a 78-68 victory at War Memorial Gym to stay undefeated at 9-0 with one game remaining before the winter break.
 
James Woods racked up 17 first-half points and finished with a team-high 24 points – adding a season-high nine rebounds and three steals – while Brian Wallack set three new career highs in the victory, as the Surrey product put up 13 points and 15 boards in 30 minutes of play. Grant Audu had 10 points and six rebounds in the win, and Kyle Foreman tallied 11 points with five assists in his home court debut with the Thunderbirds.


 
Despite the absence of sharpshooting big man Sukhman Sandhu, UBC made the most of their small ball lineups and won the board battle – outrebounding the Spartans 56-34 and holding the visitors to just nine points in the second quarter.
 
"We had a bit more of an offensively oriented group of guys," said UBC head coach Kevin Hanson. "We're missing Sukhman [Sandhu] who stretches the defense and alters shots with his presence defensively, but we're playing so many different lineups and are still trying to learn what our team is about and who plays well together. We still have a long way to go – which is a positive – but we have to clean a lot of things up."
 
Tre Fillmore and Connor Platz each had 11 points in the loss, while Ja'Qualyn Gilbreath scored 11 points in the fourth quarter before fouling out with just under three minutes remaining and finishing with a game-high 27 points – adding four rebounds in the loss.
 
"We have to have a better team effort on Gilbreath," said Hanson. "He's been a guy we've struggled to guard and, even though we focus on him, he got too many easy looks tonight. He's a heck of a player so you have to have five guys ready to defend him."
 
Isaiah Reimer opened the scoring for TWU with a three and the Spartans earned a six-point lead thanks to a Gilbreath layup at 12-6 midway through the first. A Woods jumper brought the T-Birds back within four and, after a Tre Filmore triple, Woods and Audu each scored for UBC to close out the quarter down a basket at 17-15 Spartans.
 
With the score knotted up at 17-17 in the second, Woods grabbed a wide Triston Matthews three and laid it in before Foreman blocked Gilbreath and hit back-to-back triples to cap off an 8-0 run to put the 'Birds up 25-17. Woods reclaimed an eight-point edge for UBC with a straightaway three at 28-20 and drained a jumper from beyond the arc to lift the Thunderbirds to a 36-26 lead at halftime.
 

?? MBB | The T-Birds take the lead in the 2nd quarter to end the 1st half with a 36-26 advantage over @TWUSpartans! #GoBirdsGo pic.twitter.com/rvaCJYTi72

— UBC Thunderbirds (@ubctbirds) December 4, 2021

Audu found Wallack in the paint for an easy two and Lincoln Rosebush followed up a Woods drive to give the T-Birds a 44-28 cushion early in the third. Coming out of a Trinity Western timeout, Foreman dished to a cutting Rosebush for a two-handed slam as UBC continued to build momentum and dominate the paint. Jack Cruz-Dumont nailed a corner three at 56-37 and the 'Birds held a 60-46 advantage heading into the final quarter.  
 
Gilbreath got hot in the fourth – starting with a drive to the rim before finding Connor Platz for a layup to cut the deficit to ten at 60-50, but Wallack and Matthews each scored a three to restore the sixteen-point lead. Gilbreath brought TWU within eight on a three and Reimer made it a five-point game with a triple of his own at 67-62. Another quick Gilbreath layup made it 69-64, but Woods responded with a midrange jumper. Gilbreath continued to utilize his speed on a layup at 71-67 before fouling out the other end of the floor with 2:51 remaining. Woods scored a late three to set a new T-Birds career high 24 points and UBC closed out the victory at the free throw line.
 

?? MBB | T-Birds improve to 9-0 on the season after a 78-68 victory over @TWUSpartans!

The same 2 teams meet again tomorrow at 7pm. #GoBirdsGo pic.twitter.com/B2CZBO1en5

— UBC Thunderbirds (@ubctbirds) December 4, 2021

The 'Birds and Spartans are back at it inside War Memorial Gym at 7:00 p.m. (PST) on Saturday, December 4^th, to cap off their season series and the calendar year.
 
"We need to come out with more energy tomorrow," said Hanson. "We've been on the road for three weeks, and it was tough coming back against a team that has had a long time to rest. They junked it up defensively the whole night, but we saw what they have now, so we'll make some adjustments and be prepared for tomorrow night."