VANCOUVER – While it's unknown what exactly Thunderbirds head coach Kevin Hanson wished for on his birthday, what he received at War Memorial Gym was a dramatic double overtime battle that featured over a dozen lead changes, five players fouling out and plenty of clutch plays on both ends.

In the end, it was UBC who prevailed in their second meeting of the weekend against the UFV Cascades, 93-88. Micah Jessie had one of his finest performances in a UBC jersey, recording a season-high 17 points off the bench along with four steals. That included multiple triples in the overtime periods and a massive steal with less than 30 seconds left in the second OT.

"He's a gamer," said Hanson. "He's played so much basketball, organized and pickup, he's been through so many scenarios. He gets fired up on good plays, but he never gets down on himself and he just competes. It's awesome when he's on his game and in a zone."



Adam Olsen also put in a great shift, scoring 18 points and setting new season-highs in rebounds (nine), assists (six) and blocks (four), while playing 46 minutes. Nikola Guzina scored 20 points and grabbed five boards.

Dario Lopez also played 46 minutes for the Cascades, recording a monster double-double with 26 points and 14 rebounds. Takeshi Croke put up 11 points, three rebounds, six assists and five steals.

Guzina earned an early highlight to start the game as he grabbed a steal on one end and raced down to the other for a floater to make it 4-0 UBC. Fareed Shittu also started out strong with an emphatic slam off a feed from Tobi Akinkunmi, which put the T-Birds up five early.

The Cascades counter-punched and an and-one from Lopez made it a one-point game, but the Thunderbirds came right back with another run to make it 19-11, capped by a dunk from Karan Aujla.

The two teams traded buckets for the rest of the quarter, with UBC leading 30-24 at the break. A big bucket inside from Guzina made it a 10-point lead early in the second, but that's as big as the lead would get for the rest of the night.



UFV found their footing as the second quarter wore on, and the T-Birds were forced to call for time when Vince Velasquez stepped into a three-pointer that tied the game at 34. Jessie and Olsen then responded with triples of their own to put the home team back in front, and the half ended with a score of 48-47 in favour of the 'Birds.

It was the Cascades who came out hot to begin the second half, jumping into the lead with an 11-2 run before Brendan Sullivan scored with a nifty reverse layup to stem the bleeding. The Thunderbirds clawed their way back into things from there, and took a 64-61 lead to end the third after back-to-back buckets at the rim from Guzina.

The pace of the game ground down in the fourth, with the two teams combining for just 13 points through the first six minutes. Shittu then gave his team a 73-67 lead with a layup, but the Cascades refused to give in.

A three from Jake Willemsen and then a UBC turnover and fastbreak layup from Croke tied the game at 75 with less than a minute to play. Both teams had chances for go-ahead buckets from there but couldn't convert, which sent the game to overtime.



From then on the game became a war of attrition, with each team having to manage multiple starters fouling out either late in regulation or in the overtime periods.

The T-Birds pulled ahead briefly in the first overtime when Jessie hit a corner triple to make it 80-76, but a series of free throws pulled the Cascades level at 82. The visitors held the final shot and Lopez put up a contested jumper for the win that missed, meaning another five minutes needed to be played.

Lopez took and this time hit another contested fadeaway jumper early in the second overtime, but Jessie answered right back with yet another clutch three-pointer, followed by one from Sullivan.



Points came at a premium in the final few minutes, and Jessie made perhaps the play of the day with just 22 seconds left on the clock – after Uyi Ologhola recorded a massive block for the Cascades, Jessie snuck up behind Willemsen and stole the ball in the UFV backcourt, turning a go-ahead basket opportunity into the Cascades being forced to intentionally foul.

The Thunderbirds made enough of their free throws and shut the door in the dying seconds defensively, pulling out the win.

"It was a very physical game," remarked Hanson. "I think on your journey you have to face some adversity, so it was good for us to have to execute in double overtime. The good thing was we didn't just rely on hitting shots, we relied on getting our stops."

The tests don't get any easier for the T-Birds, as next up are the undefeated Victoria Vikes on the road on Thursday, January 23rd, in a rare one-game week. The Thunderbirds have just two more home games in the regular season, coming against UBC Okanagan on February 7th and 8th.