VANCOUVER – The UBC Thunderbirds (11-5) extended their winning streak to seven games with a commanding 92-71 win over the UBC Okanagan Heat (5-13) to sweep the weekend series and build momentum down the stretch of the regular season.
The T-Birds continued to showcase their depth with five players in double-digits, as
Jamesley Jerome notched a Canada West career-best 16 points,
Triston Matthews put up a team-high 20 points with five boards,
Tobi Akinkunmi had 13 points and seven rebounds,
James Woods tallied 13 points, and
Jack Cruz-Dumont added 12 points with seven assists in the win. Gavin Ashworth totaled a team-high 16 points for UBCO, Jalen Shirley had 14 points, and Lansana Nwosu recorded 11 points and four rebounds in the Heat's fourth straight loss.
"It's always tough playing the back-to-back, but I think they still scored a lot of points against us," said UBC head coach
Kevin Hanson, as the 'Birds continue to make adjustments with just two weekends remaining before the Canada West playoffs. "We're still working hard to get things going without
Brian Wallack in the lineup, but I'm really happy that we had a chance to get everyone playing tonight and see different players step up. It had been a while since Jamesley had a game like that, Tobi had a good game, and that depth is great to see at this point in the season. We had a lot of wear and tear in the first half of the season when we were on the road, so getting this stretch of home games and the ability to implement routines is important."
In a tight first quarter, Cruz-Dumont found Jerome in the paint for two before Jerome grabbed his own free throw rebound and put it back up for a 22-17 lead. A Nwosu three late in the quarter brought the Heat back within one at 25-24 UBC to end the opening frame. Ashworth knocked down a trey at 36-29 UBC, but Akinkunmi responded with a quick bucket and Matthews hit a three for a 41-29 cushion. Ashworth kept the Heat within five after a hoop and the harm before the T-Birds got out in transition to restore the double-digit lead and entered halftime up 52-41.
Matthews drained a turnaround jumper to put UBC up 66-45 in the third quarter, as UBCO struggled to get going offensively. The 'Birds locked down on defence, allowing just 11 points in the frame and rattled off a devastating 16-0 run down the stretch of the third before leading 74-52 after three. Jonathan Haughten scored on the break for the Heat to briefly cut the deficit to 22 in the fourth, but Woods dialled up a three for an 84-57 advantage and the T-Birds carried the lead through to the 92-71 win.
The 'Birds are back at it on home court on Friday, February 3
rd at 7:00 p.m., Saturday, February 4
th at 6:00 p.m., to host the UFV Cascades (7-9) as their Canada West playoff push continues, while UBCO returns to Kelowna next weekend for their regular season finale against the UVic Vikes
