VANCOUVER – The UBC Thunderbirds (3-4) fought back from a 17-point first-quarter deficit and exploded for 34 points in the third quarter, but it wasn't enough to overcome the sharp-shooting Alberta Golden Bears (4-3) in a 100-88 loss at War Memorial Gym.
 
"It's 100 percent on our defense," said UBC head coach Kevin Hanson after the T-Birds dropped their second consecutive game. "We just aren't good enough defensively right now to be giving up the points that we are. Giving up 100 points in our own gym is just awful. We're just not doing the things we practice and have a lot of searching to do tonight to come up with another way. There are quite a few things we're looking at statistically, but it's really about getting some guys to work a little bit harder. We tried to give the bench guys some opportunities early on in the game, and we worked some guys pretty hard in the second half. They got a little bit tired, but we needed the scoring punch. It's a cyclical problem with our offense and defence and we just haven't found the right magic yet."


 
James Woods led the Thunderbirds with 23 points in nearly 39 minutes of action, Sukhman Sandhu had 17 points, and Brian Wallack had 13 points with seven boards and three steals in the loss.
 
The Golden Bears shot 64 percent from the field, as Brandon Meiklejohn went six-for-nine from beyond the arc and finished with a game-high 28 points, Abdullah Shittu put up 26 points, and Adam Paige went three-for-four from three with 15 points and five rebounds.  
 
An evenly matched first quarter saw the two teams tied 12-12 at the midway point, but Julian Vaughns pulled up at the buzzer for a 19-15 Alberta lead heading into the second – as the 'Birds went three-for-sixteen from the field in the frame. Wallack found Alex Nwoye for three in the second quarter, but Meiklejohn responded with a trey to claim a nine-point advantage. Logan Powell extended the lead to 37-23 on a corner three before Shittu threw down a dunk on the next Golden Bear possession. Woods and Tobi Akinkunmi each knocked down a triple for the 'Birds late in the quarter and Akinkunmi drained another trey at the buzzer to make it 48-38 Alberta at halftime.


 
Jack Cruz-Dumont cut the deficit to eight with a three in the third quarter and Akinkunmi made it a two-possession game at 56-50. Alberta responded with back-to-back triples, but Sandhu hit a three of his own on the next trip down the floor and Cruz-Dumont earned a steal and scored at 62-57. Cruz-Dumont brought the 'Birds within three and Woods completed the comeback to tie it at 62-62, before Cruz-Dumont found a wide-open Woods for a 69-67 lead and the teams entered the final quarter even at 72-72. Sandhu came up with a big block early in the fourth, but the Golden Bears went up 81-74 on a Paige three. Two more Paige triples extended the visitors' lead to 11 as they held on for the win.
 
The 'Birds will have a chance to bounce back on Saturday night to close out the series and finish the calendar year at 7:00 p.m. (PT) inside War Memorial Gym.