VANCOUVER - The UBC Thunderbirds (13-5) extended their winning streak to nine games, holding off the University of the Fraser Valley Cascades (7-11) 93-83 at War Memorial Gym Saturday evening. It was Seniors Night at UBC and the team's four graduating players rose to the occasion, scoring more than two-thirds of the team's points.
"We're very excited to win on senior night," said head coach
Kevin Hanson. "You dedicate the game to them. It started with the seniors and ended with the seniors. I thought all the seniors played really well, they contributed at different times. That's a night for them to remember for sure. Sukhman (Sandhu) had a great game, he wanted to keep playing, he never wanted to come out of the game. Triston (Matthews) did his thing, he's obviously enthusiastic. I thought
Jamesley Jerome probably played his best game with us."
Sandhu led the 'Birds in scoring with 26 points to go along with three blocked shots. Matthews and Jerome both put up double doubles. Matthews scored 16 points and had 12 rebounds, Jerome chipped in 14 points and 10 boards. The other graduating senior,
Luka Lizdek, had seven points, a steal, and was plus eight on the night.
UFV's Courtney Anderson led all scorers with 27 points on a tidy 50% shooting. Dario Lopez had 18 points for the Cascades along with two steals and a block before he fouled out in the fourth quarter.
Â
It was a strong start to the game for UBC as the 'Birds jumped out to a 17-9 lead just five minutes in. The team shot 50% from three in the opening frame and held a healthy rebounding advantage. The Cascades were able to hang around thanks to their own efficient shooting and seven T-Birds turnovers. UFV only trailed by six at the first break.
The second quarter saw UBC go cold from deep, missing all seven of their three point attempts. They partially made up for it by getting to the line 10 times, but the visiting Cascades began dominating interior scoring, picking up 28 of their 41 first half points in the paint. The second frame was ultimately a draw. UBC maintained their six point advantage heading into the half.
The T-Birds began pulling away in the third quarter thanks to a 12 point outburst from Triston Mathews. However, despite trailing by double digits for most of the frame, the scrappy Cascades pulled to within nine before the fourth began thanks to a flurry of threes. UFV guard Courtney Anderson knocked down three of them himself, including one in the final seconds of the quarter.
Â
The Cascades drew the 'Birds to within two in fourth thanks to more explosive scoring from Anderson. He tallied 19 total points in the second half. Just went it seemed the visitors had taken all of the momentum, UBC big man Sandhu hit back to back pick and pop threes to restore an eight point advantage. After UFV rallied again to make it a four point game late in the fourth, Sandhu came up big again with back to back blocks followed by another three to stop the Cascades' surge. UFV kept it close until the final buzzer, but failed to knock down several good looks in the game's final minutes.
UBC finishes its regular season with a home and home against the University of Victoria Vikes, beginning Thursday at 7:00 p.m. (PT) at War Memorial Gym. UFV wraps up its regular season hosting the first place Saskatchewan Huskies, with their next game set for 8:00 p.m. Friday at the UFV Athletic Centre in Abbotsford.
Â
