On Saturday night in War Memorial Gym, UBC's men's basketball team played the University of Northern BC Timberwolves for the first time this season, marching to victory with a crushing 88–59 win.
The Thunderbirds were tactically superior and unmatched in offensive play, leading the whole game and ultimately outplaying the undermanned Timberwolves, who had just nine players available. Strengthening their record to 8–3, the T-Birds sit comfortably in second position in the Canada West Pacific division.
UBC started out strong in the first quarter, harnessing their dominant and aggressive offence to its full potential. They took charge of the game and worked their way up to a 12-point lead. A physically intense quarter, both sides committed a few fouls but the game remained fast-paced and extremely competitive. The ‘Birds made key counterattacks on turnovers and possession slip-ups to further increase their lead.
The Timberwolves also attempted to score on the fast break but couldn’t convert — they were shooting at 26.67 per cent compared to the T-Birds’s 52.63 per cent. Adam Olsen and Nikola Guzina led the UBC offence and scored 9 and 7 points respectively in this quarter. Moreover, UBC had good ball rotation and coordination, and they finished the quarter with a confident 27–12 lead.
The second quarter was more challenging for the Thunderbirds as UNBC fought back in an attempt to equalize the scoreboard. Timberwolf Isiah Bias used offensive variations of drives and the Euro step to lead the attack. UNBC closed in on the gap with good ball rotation, swift passes and coordination. UBC also committed a few fouls out of frustration which allowed the visitors to capitalize on points.
Though the T-Birds maintained their lead, their passes were sloppy and they lacked the composure they had in the first quarter. At halftime, the score had narrowed to 40–37.
But UBC reemerged with a huge offensive surge and tighter, more organized defence. The Timberwolves’s threatening offence was quashed by the Thunderbirds’s defence and they only scored four points the entirety of this quarter. Olsen scored another seven points this quarter, including a dunk assisted by Brendan Sullivan. Rediscovering their momentum, the T-Birds finished the quarter 67–41.
The fourth quarter continued the same way as the third with the Thunderbirds dominating the court. Guzina scored back-to-back points to take his total to 15 points overall. The Timberwolves earned a few aggressive offensive fouls, but they couldn’t pose a threat to the T-Birds. When the whistle blew, the Thunderbirds walked away with an 88–59 win.
In an interview after the game, UBC head coach Kevin Hanson spoke on the team momentum, saying, "I thought we were playing some really good basketball at the end of the first semester, so we need to get back to that and we're certain that we will."
The Thunderbirds’s next game is this Friday against the University of Fraser Valley Cascades at War Memorial Gym at 7:30 p.m.
Share this article