UBC Thunderbirds men's basketball player Gus Goerzen rising in the air, the ball in his hands and pulled back behind his head, clearly about to throw down a big, in-game dunk against the Thompson Rivers WolfPack
Noah Andrew TRU
85
Winner UBC Thunderbirds UBC 0
72
TRU WolfPack TRU 0
Winner
UBC Thunderbirds UBC
0
85
Final
72
TRU WolfPack TRU
0
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
UBC Thunderbirds UBC 24 15 30 16 85
TRU WolfPack TRU 23 17 16 16 72

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | | Stu Walters (UBC Communications)

T-Birds enjoy total team effort in downing Wolfpack 85-72

KAMLOOPS, B.C. – The UBC Thunderbirds enjoyed a balanced attack with nearly six players reaching double-digits en route to an 85-72 victory over the Thompson Rivers Wolfpack Saturday night at the Tournament Capital Centre.

Nikola Guzina and Tobi Akinkunmi led the way for the visitors, scoring 14 points each while Guzina added five rebounds and Akinkunmi recorded four steals. Gus Goerzen poured in 12 points while Edouard Gauthier and Karan Aujla registered 10 points each. Just missing out on double-digits was guard Holt Tomie chipping in with nine points and dishing out eight assists for the T-Birds who picked up their tenth straight conference victory and improved to 12-2 on the season.

UBC Thunderbirds men's basketball forward Nikola Guzina seen from behind with his arms raised with three fingers point out on each hand to celebrate a teammate's three-pointer

For the Wolfpack it was Jayden Stephens setting the tone with a game high 23 points and 10 rebounds followed by Steve Stinson and Thomas Olsen adding 17 and 10 points respectively as TRU fell to 10-6 in Canada West Conference play.

It was a back-and-forth affair until UBC pulled away midway through the second half. The hosts came out strong on homecourt and held a 24-23 advantage after the first quarter while maintaining that one point edge also heading into the halftime up 40-39.

The break proved useful for the 'Birds who came out a little more determined in the third quarter, outscoring the Wolfpack by nearly double at 30-16 in creating a healthy gap of 69-56 by the end of the stanza. The teams would trade an even 16 points each in the final frame but the damage was done by UBC pulling away in the decisive third quarter and a comfortable 85-72 win.

UBC Thunderbirds guard Holt Tomie rising up and releasing a mid-range jump shot, the ball 30 or so centimeters from his hand a fraction of a second after he released his shot. A Thompson Rivers defender is below him with his hand raised in a late contest of the shot.

The solid road effort included the T-Birds having the edge in points in the paint, outpacing TRU 36-26, additionally the support from the bench also favoured UBC by a 30-21 margin. Akinkunmi and Goerzen helped spread the floor with proficient shooting from outside, Akinkunmi was good on three of his four, three-point attempts while Goerzen made two of his five attempts from distance as the duo accounted for five of the team's nine three-pointers in the contest.

The T-Birds will remain on the road heading into week three of the second half as they open a weekend series against the Fraser Valley Cascades beginning with a rare matinee matchup Friday January, 23 with a 1:00 p.m. tip off. You can catch all the action on Canada West TV.
 
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