PRINCE GEORGE, B.C. – The UBC Thunderbirds bounced back with an 83-71 win over the host UNBC Timberwolves Saturday night to secure the weekend split at the Northern Sport Centre.
Victor Radocaj led the way for the T-Birds (11-5) with a season high 16 points on eight-of-nine shooting while adding ten rebounds.
Evgeny Baukin countered with a team-high 15 for UNBC (7-7) while adding five rebounds, two assists, two blocks and a steal.
It was a defensive battle in the opening 10 as the Timberwolves held UBC to six-of-17 shooting and led 20-16. Spencer Ledoux and Darren Hunter combined for 11 points for the T-Wolves while
Fareed Shittu and
Arnaud Konan each had four for UBC.
The T-Birds began the game on a 7-4 run, with four points coming from Shittu. The early buckets for UNBC came from Ledoux and Josh Gillespie. Chris Ross got UNBC back even at 9-9 with three straight free-throws. A steal from Dylon Matthews resulted in a Ledoux layup to make it 11-9 UNBC, all part of a 7-1 run that led to a 16-9 T-Wolves lead.
Konan,
Toni Maric and
Karan Aujla all supplied buckets for UBC in the final moments to spark a 5-0 run of their own to round out the first quarter scoring.
It was a much different story in the second quarter as UBC missed only five of their 22 attempts en route to a 52-39 half-time lead. Six different T-Birds supplied buckets in the opening five minutes of the frame, sparking a 24-10 run and an eventual 10-point lead.
The go-ahead bucket came from
Tobi Akinkunmi in close on a turnaround layup, but the star of the quarter for UBC was Radocaj who supplied 12 points on six-for-six shooting.
Justin Sunga did his part to spark a UNBC comeback with a deep elbow two, but
Brendan Sullivan came back the very next possession and drilled a three to make it 44-32.
Baukin provided five late points for the T-Wolves who faced a 13-point gap at halftime.
The T-Wolves responded well, outscoring the 'Birds 24-17 in the third. Gillespie supplied seven third quarter points and got help from the likes of Darren Hunter and Ledoux. Three separate threes from Akinkunmi helped UBC to a slim 11-10 advantage through the first 4:30, but Hunter rattled off five unanswered points to get the hosts to within 10. The gap got a little closer when Ledoux and Gillespie each hit tough layups from the post, and the score read 69-63 for UBC through three.
The Timberwolves had their moments in the fourth, but ultimately the Thunderbirds' defence held their ground en route to a 16-10 fourth quarter edge. Sullivan hit back-to-back early buckets for UBC to start the fourth before Ledoux countered with two more for UNBC, sparking a 7-0 run.
A triple from Chris Ross and a layup from Sunga pushed the Wolves to within three which was as close as they'd get.
James Woods responded with a three for UBC, quieting the NSC crowd, then four straight points from Shittu moved the 'Birds up by 10. The final dagger from UBC came off an 'And 1' from Shittu that pushed the score to 83-71. Shortly thereafter, UBC was able to celebrate an 85-73 victory, and a split with UNBC.
The T-Birds are right back on the road next weekend when they head to Kelowna to face the UBC-Okanagan Heat for a pair of games starting Friday, January 26 at 7:00 p.m.
