VANCOUVER – One of the most highly anticipated weekends of the Canada West regular season looms for the UBC Thunderbirds (7-5). With a three-game winning streak in tow, Kevin Hanson's crew returns to the friendly confines of War Memorial Gym to battle the Regina Cougars (5-7) this weekend on Friday and Saturday. Friday's Courtside showdown with Regina marks the first home game for UBC since December 3^rd and the start of a stretch that will see them play seven consecutive games at home. The long-time head coach knows the importance of taking advantage of their upcoming schedule.
 
"It's been a wild start to the new year. Nine of our last 11 games have been played on the road. That's a lot of flights, hotels, different gyms and time zone changes," said the 23-year veteran head coach Kevin Hanson. "We're really looking forward to being back home and getting our home routines back which will hopefully bode well for us this weekend."
 
Last weekend in Kamloops, the blue and gold earned a hard-fought sweep over the TRU Wolfpack. Friday featured an 87-69 victory, followed by an 89-81 triumph on Saturday. Triston Matthews led the charge offensively on both nights for UBC supplying 25 and 21 points respectively, while second-year forward Nikola Guzina had 30 points on the weekend, including a career-best 17 points Friday.
 
"We have a lot of belief that [Guzina] is going to be a great player. It's just about him getting more minutes in games and getting comfortable," remarked Kevin Hanson. "He's a dynamic player and he passed the ball really well last weekend too. He's dangerous down low, he's got some great post moves, he's just lacked some experience that comes with time. I'm not surprised by any of his recent success, and he's going to be a big part of our future and one of our mainstays. Right now he's coming into his own and it's great to see his hard work paying off for him."


 
With victories in four of their last five games dating back to early December, the team is trending in a more consistent direction. But the overall quality of competition this year in Canada West is a good thing for UBC, as it's forced everybody – Coaches, players, training staff to work 'that much' harder.
 
"We're heading in the right direction and that's evident in the win-loss column," explained Hanson. "But most importantly we're playing a better brand of basketball. We're sharing the ball better, we understand our roles better and we're competing hard every night. We've had a tough schedule and we've played good teams. It's wide open this year and we're just focusing on who we are and what we're trying to do. But these close games have made us all have to work harder and we're seeing which guys can step up. It's 'fight or flight' and right now we're fighting. As long as we can keep this growth going we're going to be happy as a team."
 
The Regina Cougars are an experienced group that come into this weekend with a mirror opposite record of UBC. After a 12-4 record last season, the Cougars find themselves right in the thick of the Canada West playoff picture in the 2022-23, and a positive result or two this weekend would only further muddy the waters into the later part of January.

"There's a lot of experience on that team. They can score, they've got good size, good athleticism, and they match up well with us," concluded Kevin Hanson. "We're going to have a big crowd on Friday night. They're going to be motivated, and so are we. It's going to be a great, entertaining weekend."


 
The two sides met back in October in an exhibition game where UBC prevailed with an 88-80 victory. Dating back to February 6, 2015, UBC has captured eight victories in their last nine meetings with the Cougars.
 
The home double-header weekend begins Friday at 7:00 pm PT for UBC. The two teams will then meet again Saturday at 6:00 pm. Tickets for both games can be purchased HERE. You can also watch live on Canada West TV.