VANCOUVER – The UBC Thunderbirds reclaimed the legendary Buchanan Cup with a thrilling 79-73 victory over their crosstown rival SFU Red Leafs in a jam-packed War Memorial Gym Friday night. Despite a slow start, the T-Birds exploded for 28 points in the second quarter and edged out the NCAA Division II Red Leafs in a game that came down to the wire.
"I think we came out with some jitters," said UBC head coach
Kevin Hanson after the emotional home court victory that lifted the 'Birds to a 19-16-1 record in the storied rivalry series dating back to 1965. "The second quarter was big, but they did a good job defensively on our scorers in the first little bit and we didn't share the basketball. There was a lot of personal drive because the guys wanted to help out and wanted to contribute, they played a bit more as individuals instead of as a team. It's awesome to play this game at this time of the year with that intensity. It keeps the guys believing in the system and what we're doing. They went to their small ball, so we matched it, and I thought it was pretty effective. I thought our posts did a great job too – we got them into foul trouble, and they struggled to defend our bigs. I think that was the story of the game."
Brian Wallack put up a game-high 18 points after going 10-for-12 from the free-throw line and added nine rebounds for the 'Birds, James Woods had 16 points with four steals, Sukhman Sandhu tallied 13 points, and
Jack Cruz-Dumont racked up 12 points with 7 assists and five rebounds.
David Penney led the Red Leafs with 17 points and six boards, Eric Beckett notched 11 points and five rebounds, while Jahmal Wright had 10 points and four rebounds in the loss.
Victor Radocaj opened the scoring with a triple for the visitors and Cruz-Dumont replied with a pull-up jumper to kick off the high-octane battle. SFU went up three with a Lefebvre dunk at 7-4 and Penney poured in three straight buckets for a 17-6 cushion before Nikola Guzina stopped the run with a hard finish at the rim. Elliot Dimaculangan hit a smooth crossover step back jumper late in the first, but Sandhu knocked down his first three to pull UBC within seven at 19-12 heading into the second quarter.
The 'Birds amped up the energy to start the second – with Woods earning one of his four steals on the night before Cruz-Dumont found Wallack at the rim for an alley-oop to make it 24-21 Red Leafs. Wallack evened it up at 27-27 with a pair of free throws and Cruz-Dumont tied it again with a corner three after a no-look pass from Luka Lizdek. Lizdek then lifted UBC to their first lead at 38-37 as the T-Birds pushed but trailed the visitors 40-39 at the half.
Woods got the crowd roaring with a deep three early in the third, but Wright tied it at 43-43 and SFU rattled off a 13-6 run – capped off by a Zaborniak steal and layup at 56-49. Woods scored another trey, as the Thunderbirds went into the third quarter down 56-52.
The T-Bird starting backcourt showed off their quickness with back-to-back takes to tie it at 56-56 in the fourth and Sandhu earned a trip to the line, hitting both free throws to put the 'Birds up 60-56. SFU briefly retook the lead with a three at 61-60, but Wallack went to work in the paint and gave UBC a 67-63 lead on free throws. Cruz-Dumont slashed to the rim for two and a 71-68 edge with 1:27 remaining, before Dimaculangan was fouled beyond the arc and drained all three free throws for a 71-71 tie. Sandhu came up big with his second three of the game for a crucial 74-73 lead, and Woods drove straight to the rim for a 76-73 lead with 21.1 on the clock. Radocaj tried a quick two but came up short and was forced to foul Cruz-Dumont with 13.7 remaining. Cruz-Dumont made one free throw to make it a two-possession game and Woods iced it with a pair of free throws for the 79-73 victory.
"These are the games you try to play everybody that you can and give them the experience," added Hanson. "It's a lifelong memory type of game. In basketball, home court plays such a huge factor when you have the crowd going and it's an emotional time. I think that got us a little too hyped up early on, but it helped us late in the game when guys got a little tired. It was certainly nice to perform well and get the win in front of such a large crowd. There were lots of high school kids, lots of long-time alumni…some even flew in for the game, so it's special to have those guys as part of our family. Overall, we're just super excited about the win."
Next up, the Thunderbirds will look to build off of the emotional victory in their Canada West home opener against the University of British Columbia Timberwolves on November 12
th and 13
th inside War Memorial Gym.
