VANCOUVER - It was as perfect of a seniors' night as anyone on the UBC Thunderbirds could ask for, as they dismantled the Calgary Dinos in the second half en route to a 107-75 victory.
 
That points total marked the most UBC has scored in a game in over four years, and their 23 assists was the most in any game this season. The score was tied 48-48 at halftime but the T-Birds blew the doors off the opposition in the third, outscoring the Dinos 37-10.
 
James Woods saved perhaps his best performance of the year for his final game at War Memorial Gym. The 5^th year guard dropped 28 points on 12-18 shooting along with six rebounds and five assists. His fellow graduating senior and team captain Brian Wallack had an all-around performance with 11 points, eight rebounds, four assists, two steals and two blocks.
 

MBB | Congratulations ???? to our 2 graduating seniors Brian Wallack and James Woods ahead of their final home game at War Memorial Gym!

Thanks for your dedication & impact. Once a T-Bird, always a T-Bird! ????
@ubc_mbb pic.twitter.com/cInmbRmtBr

— UBC Thunderbirds (@ubctbirds) February 11, 2024

"Full kudos to James Woods who said as a senior "I'm taking over" and he took over," said Thunderbirds head coach Kevin Hanson. "Him and Brian were just unstoppable one on one tonight…I'm really happy to get this win for them and happy that they played so well this weekend."


 
Fareed Shittu and Adam Olsen added 20 and 16 points, respectively, for the T-Birds. On the side of the Dinos, Nate Patrone led the way with 22 points while Javier Ramos-Yzquierdo had 11 points and six rebounds.
 
Both teams came out of the gates firing in the first quarter with a barrage of three-pointers. Arnaud Konan drilled two early on with Shittu and Tobi Akinkunmi each hitting as well to put UBC up 16-11.
 
The Dinos, however, went on a 9-2 run of their own to close the opening frame and led 28-25 at the break. They stretched the lead out to 33-25 to begin the second, which would prove to be their high-water mark for the night.
 
From there, the Thunderbirds began to assert control over the game. A triple from Micah Jessie cut the lead to just one, and after the Dinos tried to push out in front once more, Woods responded with a putback and a step-back three to close the half with the score tied.
 
Determined to get the win on his seniors' night, Woods was electric in the third quarter – outscoring the entire Dinos team 16-10 by himself while shooting 7-7 from the field.


 
He had plenty of support as well, with Shittu, Akinkunmi and Wallack all draining threes as UBC poured it on. An alley-oop from Konan to Shittu made it 77-58, and the Thunderbirds didn't let up, scoring another seven straight capped by a layup from Woods at the buzzer to make it 85-58 at the end of the quarter.
 
UBC was in cruise control in the final frame, and the crowd let out some oohs and aahs as Olsen hit a pair of threes and Shittu racked up another highlight reel jam after schooling the shellshocked Dinos with a crossover move on the perimeter.


 
The margin of victory grew to 32 points by the end of the night, as the Thunderbirds improved to 14-6 in their fight for a first-round bye in the Canada West playoffs. The full playoff bracket won't be decided this weekend, but the T-Birds will head into the postseason with some momentum.
 
"I'm excited about what our team can do," said coach Hanson. "We still have our goals and our guys are hungry, you saw that tonight."
 
The Canada West playoffs take place in their entirety from February 21^st to 25^th. The Thunderbirds will be one of 12 teams heading to Winnipeg to fight for Canada West supremacy and the chance to go to the national championship tournament.