ee sports a UBC-O No! Men’s Basketball Team Suffers Second Loss T-Wolves upset by Heat 86-85 BROCK CAMPBELL SPORTS EDITOR In their matchup with University of British Columbia- Okanagan Heat, UNBC looked to recover from its dismal performance the previous weekend against Vancouver Island University. After beating VIU on the first night of their two game home-stand, the T-Wolves came out flat the second night and would need a much better performance the following weekend against UBC-O to get back into the win column. Coming into the game UNBC had a 5-1 record and UBC-O sat at 3-3. Nonetheless, the Heat would leave with the win in a barn burner that came down to the last possession. To begin the game it seemed as though UNBC was off to a quick start, something they definitely needed after struggling in the first quarter against VIU. Matt Mills started by going three for four from behind the arc and Jesse Smith added a three of his own that put the T-Wolves ahead by eight. UNBC was up 26-18 after ten minutes. But UNBC would let the Heat back into the game. UBC-O opened the second quarter with a 12-3 run pulling ahead 30-29. The T-Wolves got overworked on the glass and gave up too many uncontested inside hoops. The teams traded baskets to finish the second quarter and the game was dead-locked at 42-42 at the break. The T-Wolves started the second half with a set play that ignited the home crowd. Dennis Stark threw down a monster alley-oop dunk served up by Inderbir Gill who lobbed one in from the free-throw line extended. It seemed as though Stark caught the ball in the middle of the key before crowning two Heat defenders. The score remained close throughout the third in a game that saw seventeen lead changes and eleven ties. Tension seemed to boil over when Dan Stark practically body-checked Dave Mackay, UBC-O's pesky forward, as the third quarter neared an end. Mackay’s free-throws would put the Heat up 66-65. However, Robert-Rodriguez would hit.a runner three to beat the buzzer and give the T-Wolves a 68-66 lead going into the fourth. In the fourth Mackay continued to be a thorn in the T- Wolves side scoring several points inside and knocking down a three which put the Heat up 73-72. UBC-O would go up 75-72 before Mills tied it with another three. Nevertheless, UBC-O would regain its lead going up by five, which UNBC struggled to answer until Sebastian-Kevin Louis dropped a nice leaner over the Heat ‘Bigs’ sparking a 9-0 run for the T-Wolves. A run that included another long distance bomb by Mills that tied it up once again at eighty. After a Heat miss, Mills went one for one from the line. UBC-O turned it over and this time Gill stepped up to the line and smoothly knocked down both. After Francis Rowe forced another turnover, Gill and Dennis Stark worked a perfect pick-and-roll that Stark almost converted into a three-point play as he got hacked going to the hoop and the ball rattled out. Stark would make one of two putting the T-Wolves ahead 84-80. The Heat would answer as Alex Roth hit his fourth three of the game with twenty seconds left. Down by one UBC-O was forced to foul putting Gill on the line. After being perfect all night from the free-throw line, 9-9, Gill missed his second, giving the Heat a chance at the lead. Once again it was Roth who calmly nailed another three with eight seconds to go. Coach Jordan called his final time-out to set up one last play. Off the inbound Gill quickly got to the hoop but his runner didn’t fall, Louis tried for the quick put back which wouldn't drop either and time ran out as both teams scrambled for the loose ball with the final score 86-85 to in favor of the Heat. Gill and Mills both finished the game with twenty-three points and Stark added thirteen for the T-Wolves. Mackay would lead the Heat with twenty-two and Roth would finish with fifteen on five of seven shooting from long range including the two key hoops at the end. The T-Wolves remain in third place i in league standings behind VIU and unbeaten Capilano, which just so happens to be the next home game for UNBC on January 21st. Women’s T-Wolves Beat the Heat UNBC Women's basketball team moves up the standings with a 65-58 win over UBC-O BROCK CAMPBELL SPORTS EDITOR a ONLINE SOURCE Coming off their third loss of the season the women T- Wolves desperately needed a win against the University of British Columbia-Okanagan Heat (UBC-O) on Saturday, November 27th. Having gone 1-1 against Vancouver Island University the previous weekend, UNBC dropped to 3-3 for the season putting them in fifth place in league standings. A loss to UBC-O would have sent the T-Wolves plummeting to seventh, just out of the final playoff position. The importance of the game was not lost on the players or their coach, Loralyn Murdoch, as they took to the hardwood against the Heat. Looking to wear down the Heat, who only had four subs, the T-Wolves came out pressuring the ball and pushing it up the floor at every chance they got: UNBC opened the game with a full-court zone press that Murdoch enforced most of the game. The press created a lot of transition opportunities; however, the T-Wolves couldn't capitalize on several easy.chances, allowing UBC-O to stick around. Despite controlling the tempo, UNBC let the Heat linger and late in the first quarter UBC-O-went on a 9-2 run, which put them in front 16-9 after one. UNBC continued to force the action in the second but they also continued to struggle offensively and trailed at half-time down 25-21. The T-Wolves once again had several good . chances, particularly off offensive rebounds, but couldn't find the net. UNBC did, however, hold the Heat to 9 in the quarter with their constant ball-pressure. The difference in the game was the T-Wolves third quarter start and the performance of their bench in the second ap The T-Wolves opened the half with a 13-0 run, holding the Heat scoreless until the 4:58 mark of the third quarter. Jennifer Bruce, Emily Kaehn and Sarah Moxley provided some key minutes for the T-Wolves coming off the pine and were integral to UNBC’s win. Eight of Kaehn’s team leading sixteen points came in the third. Moxley who sat out with injury against VIU was a menace on the boards and had several nice post-passes that led to easy hoops for her teammates. When she wasn't dishing it inside, she was ONLINE SOURCE kicking it outside for three. Jennifer Bruce knocked down one trey and Christine Kennedy banked one home on a Moxley kick-out to beat the shot clock. Moxley would finish her stellar third with a put-back that just beat the buzzer to end the quarter and put the T-Wolves up 46-38. The T-Wolves continued with their transition game in the fourth but traded hoops with the Heat who managed to keep it close off some unforced turnovers that led to easy buckets. Bruce took advantage of some extra minutes in_ the fourth quarter scoring eight of her eleven points. She knocked down another three, edged out the shot clock on an inside hoop and scored on the fast-break off a nice feed from Kennedy. UNBC maintained its lead from the third quarter and finished with a 65-58 win. With her sixteen points Emily Kaehn received player of the game honors, as mentioned Bruce had eleven and the T- Wolves bench outscored the Heats’ 33-12. Kennedy also had ten assists on the night. For UBC-O Jenna Kaniz led all scorers with twenty-five points. With the win UNBC moves up to third in league standings, however, the T-Wolves are one of four teams with a 4- 3 record. The T-Wolves sit atop these teams having the best points for and points against ratio. Their next games which aren't until after the Christmas break are all the more important when they go up against Quest one of the four teams that share‘the same record. UNBC heads to Squamish for those games scheduled for January 14th and 15th. The T-Wolves next home games are the following weekend against the top team in the league, the Capilano Blues.