BRANDON, Man. – Putting up a career-high 31 points Saturday night, veteran T-Bird
Brian Wallack led the blue and gold to a bounce back 92-79 victory over the host Brandon Bobcats, splitting the first weekend series of 2023.
Converting on 13 of 15 field goal attempts to go with eight rebounds and three assists, Wallack embodied a determined T-Birds group emphatic they wouldn't return home without a win.
"It really keeps the ball rolling," said Wallack. "The motivation and momentum we get for the next weekend…it's really going to help us going into next weekend against TRU."
Wallack did it all for the T-Birds (5-5), as the team has now earned a split in every weekend so far on the conference season.
This with a bloodied nose and split lip after making contact with a Bobcat player.
"In the first game we forced a lot of shots early on and one thing with Brandon is that we had an advantage with our height and our strength, so throughout the first two quarters we pounded it inside the paint and it really seemed to work for us," Wallack added.
Reversing the script from Friday night's loss, the T-Birds scored efficiently and often in Saturday's rematch holding a 46-31 halftime lead.
Coming out of the break, Brandon (8-4) didn't score until half way through the third quarter.
UBC increased their lead to 25 heading into the final frame when the Bobcats came on strong, outscoring the 'Birds 27-15 in the final ten minutes. But the damage had been done and UBC's victory was never in any jeopardy.
Triston Matthews also had a strong night on offence for the 'Birds with 21 points, six rebounds and a team-high five assists.
The 'Birds are right back on the road again next weekend when they travel up the Coquihalla to battle the Thompson Rivers WolfPack in Kamloops. Tip off for the first half of the weekend double header on Friday, January 13 is 7:30 p.m. PT.
