KELOWNA, B.C. – On the strength of a pair of double-doubles from Brian Wallack and Fareed Shittu, the UBC Thunderbirds earned a 97-77 win over the host UBC-Okanagan Heat Friday night in Kelowna.

Staking out a 19 point halftime lead, the T-Birds (12-5) had that cut in half after a strong push by the Heat (4-11) in the third quarter, led by Hafith Moallin's ten points including a pair of threes to get a boisterous crowd on their feet.

But the fourth belonged to the T-Birds who started to pull away for good thanks to an 8-0 run midway through the frame that included a beautiful ally-oop dunk by Shittu, set up by Micah Jessie, to get the UBC lead back to 18.
 

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Making his return to the lineup  after missing last weekend's series in Prince George, Wallack finished off a 23-point night in style with a dunk of his own before being subbed off with two-and-a-half remaining. The fifth-year T-Bird added 11 boards for his ninth double-double of the Canada West season.

Shittu led all players in the fourth scoring 11 of his 20 total points in the frame going 8-of-13 on the night.

UBC held a 24-13 lead after the opening quarter which included back-to-back threes by Tobi Akinkunmi and Jessie.



The second saw much of the same as the Heat struggled to generate any sustained momentum with the T-Birds holding a 49-30 advantage at the halftime break.

The pause was certainly advantageous for the hosts who flipped the script in the third quarter, outscoring UBC by a 25-17 margin. Jalen Shirley capped off the energetic period with a three in the final minute to cut the home side's deficit to just 11.



David Usuomon's early basket in the fourth got the Heat within nine points but the hosts would not get any closer as the 'Birds began to steadily climb back into a more comfortable lead, eventually securing their 20^th all-time win over UBCO in as many meetings.

The T-Birds and Heat will battle again Saturday for what will be UBC's final road game of the regular season. Tipoff is set for 6:00 p.m. PT in Kelowna with the game available live on Canada West TV.