VANCOUVER – The UBC Thunderbirds (9-5) extended their Canada West win streak to five games with a commanding 90-65 win over the Regina Cougars (5-9) on Saturday night at War Memorial Gym.
"It's so tough to play the back-to-back nights, so I'm really happy with our first and second quarters defensively," said UBC head coach
Kevin Hanson. "We came out with energy and had a chance to get everybody playing. They're a team who's sort of still searching for the style of play they want, but I think we're also on the rise. When we share the basketball, we're really good, and we proved that tonight. When we play one-pass, shot offence it's not really good for our team. So, we need to continue learning how to share the basketball, but defensively I think we're making some good strides. That's an offensively powerful team and for the most part we did a pretty good job holding them to 68 points last night and 65 points tonight. They weren't hot from three, and I think we did a good job challenging their shots. If we can hold teams to that shooting percentage, we're going to win a lot of basketball games."
Triston Matthews shot a blistering eight-for-ten from the field for a team-high 22 points,
Brian Wallack poured in 18 points and four boards, while
Luka Lizdek and
James Woods each notched 12 points in the decisive victory. Carter Millar led the Cougars with 16 points and eight rebounds, and Jalen Edwards added 16 points and shot four-for-six from three with three rebounds and three assists.
Wallack went six-for-six from the free throw line in the opening quarter, and Matthews had nine points in the frame as the T-Birds held a comfortable 21-12 lead after one. Millar got the Cougars on the board early in the second, but Wallack replied with a quick bucket and Matthews lifted the 'Birds to a 10-point cushion with a triple at 27-17. UBC continued to string together stops and went up 46-21 on one of Lizdek three triples of the quarter, before
Sukhman Sandhu sent the teams into halftime on a trey at 49-23 'Birds.
The T-Birds fired on all cylinders in the third and bolstered their lead to 30 points midway through the quarter. Woods knocked down a trey at 63-32 and they entered the fourth up 68-41. Wallack energized the crowd with an early fourth-quarter dunk and Matthews drilled back-to-back triples for an 81-49 lead. UBC led by as many as 34 points in the fourth, before Edwards drained a three for the Cougars at 86-60 and Asher Ndah made a late bucket to cap off a late 8-0 Regina run before falling 90-65.
UBC continues their seven-game homestand on Friday, January 27
th, at 7:00 p.m. and Saturday, January 28
th, at 6:00 p.m. against the UBC Okanagan Heat (5-10) inside War Memorial Gym, while Regina will return home for a series against the Lethbridge Pronghorns (4-10), as they look to get back into the Canada West win column.
"I think we'll be able to get our bodies some rest now," said Hanson as the 'Birds settle into their home court routine. "This is the first Saturday night and Sunday that we're not traveling in a month. Guys are sleeping in their own beds and not having extra wear and tear on their bodies, so it should bode well for us to resettle after tonight, reestablish our goals, and keep the ball rolling."
