The UBC Thunderbirds earned a thrilling 79-72 preseason victory over the NCAA Division 1 UNLV Runnin' Rebels at a sold-out War Memorial Gym in front of prominent names in the lower mainland basketball community as well as NBA rising star Jonathan Kuminga. The summer showdown lived up to its name on a humid night that saw the T-Birds earn their first win over an NCAA Div. 1 team since 2011 in exciting fashion.
 
"I don't think we've had many guys who've been involved in a Div. 1 game here," said UBC head coach Kevin Hanson. "Obviously, it's going to give a lot of belief to our guys. We've probably prepared more this time than we ever have…and I think it showed tonight by being a little bit more aggressive. I thought the first ten minutes was going to be really chaotic, with us not playing, them not playing and a lot of new players on both sides – but for us to come out and dictate the tempo…I thought we did a good job of matching their physicality."


 
James Woods had a game-high 33 points with six threes, four rebounds, and three assists, while Sukhman Sandhu racked up 23 points with 12 rebounds and four assists. Jack Cruz-Dumont tallied seven points with six rebounds and six assists, and Jamesley Jerome put up 10 points with six boards in the win.


 
"Woods is just such a special player," said Hanson after the standout performance from the fourth-year guard. "In that first half, Sukhman and James really took over, that's when they went on some runs. James hit a couple from about eight feet behind the three-point line, and that made it tough to guard."
 
Jackie Johnson scored a team-high 16 points for the Runnin' Rebels, Justin Webster had 12 points, Luis Rodriguez tallied 11 points with four rebounds, and Keshon Gilbert added nine points with six assists in the loss.


 
Cruz-Dumont made the sellout crowd roar with a layup to open the scoring before Gilbert pulled up from midrange for a 10-4 lead. Sandhu drained his first triple to cut the deficit to three, but UNLV big man Isaiah Cottrell scored a trey of his own midway through the first quarter as the Running Rebels shot 61 percent from the field in the opening frame and led 28-23 heading into the second.

?? MBB | The 'Birds hold a 42-40 halftime lead over @TheRunninRebels at War Memorial Gym!#GoBirdsGo pic.twitter.com/lRJ5O86VEY

— UBC Thunderbirds (@ubctbirds) August 17, 2022

 
UBC came out firing, as Woods and Sandhu each hit a three before another Sandhu triple lifted the 'Birds to a 32-30 lead. Woods rose up and knocked down a deep three to make it a five-point edge and cap off a 9-2 scoring run. Rodriguez briefly put UNLV up two, but Jerome finished at the rim to tie it up on the next trip down the floor. Webster cashed in a triple for the Running Rebels, but Sandhu found a cutting Brian Wallack for an easy two in the paint. Sandhu wasn't done yet, as the centre scored his fourth three of the half for a 42-40 lead that the Thunderbirds carried into halftime.

UBC leading UNLV 42-40 at the half. ?????? pic.twitter.com/5zt0cHgQ6M

— Santa J. Ono (@ubcprez) August 17, 2022

Woods' hot hand continued with two threes to start the third for a 48-45 edge, as the T-Birds strung together stops and continued to execute offensively. Johnson scored on a strong take to the rim to bring UNLV within one at 58-57 UBC and Cottrell tied it at 60-60 with a quick three as time wound down in the quarter. With seconds left on the clock, UBC earned a steal that led to a circus finish by Jerome at the buzzer for a 62-60 advantage after three.



The Thunderbirds widened their lead to 69-60 with another Woods triple in the fourth, before Sandhu was fouled from beyond the arc and made all three free throws for a 74-68 cushion. Rodriguez ripped a steal and took it to the rack for a slam at 74-70 'Birds and Webster drained two free throws with 48 seconds remaining to make it a one-possession game…but missed the three on the next trip down. Woods calmly made both his free throws for a 77-72 lead with 21 seconds on the clock and scored his final two points of the night to seal the victory - 79-72.

?? MBB | James Woods led all players on the court with 33 points as the T-Birds downed the visiting @TheRunninRebels 79-72 at War Memorial Gym Tuesday night pic.twitter.com/qqKPpo09pm

— UBC Thunderbirds (@ubctbirds) August 17, 2022

"It's tough because it is three months away from our first conference game," added Hanson after the T-Birds kicked off their preseason tune ups with a bang. "What I think it does do is give our guys a lot of belief in themselves and belief in what we're trying to achieve. We had some special performances from some special players tonight."