UBC vs. UNBC: Game recap

Lee Dorner
Sports Information Assistant | UBC

ANCOUVER - Another big night

from Tommy Nixon and another
dominant effort on the glass got the UBC
Thunderbirds back to .500 at 8-8 on the
season with an 86-65 win over the UNBC
Timberwolves on Saturday night at War
Memorial Gym.

UBC outscored UNBC 23-13 on second
chance points thanks to their 15-7 edge in
offensive rebounding. The T-Birds made
good use of their size advantage over the
Timberwolves all weekend, averaging a +14
overall rebounding margin for the series.
That went a long way in getting the 'Birds
their first weekend sweep of 2014, and only
their second of the season, with the other
coming at home against Winnipeg and
Manitoba in November.

“We're just happy with the win. It's the
first time this year we've won back-to-back
in conference. That was important for us,
especially on home court to keep the hunt
alive,” said UBC head coach Kevin Hanson.
“T thought the effort was pretty good this
week. There were a few momentary lapses,
which, as a coach, you pick apart more

than other people, but overall I am happy
getting two wins.”

Nixon stayed hot from three-point range
after nearly setting a UBC record on Friday
night, knocking down three of four long
bombs on Saturday to finish the weekend
10-for-15 behind the arc. He led the 'Birds
with 20 points and nine rebounds, giving
him 52 points and 19 boards for the series.

This marks the third straight week in
which the 'Birds have gotten back-to-back
huge nights from a different player. First
it was Brylle Kamen kicking off 2014 with
a combined 43 points and 23 rebounds
against Alberta and Saskatchewan. Then
Kedar Wright went off for 37 points and
eight rebounds against Mount Royal last
week, and this week it was Nixon's turn.

“It's been a funny season that way, where
there always seems to be one guy who has
an exceptional weekend,” said Hanson. “It's
tough never knowing who that's going to
be, but I was happy for Tommy and this was
a great weekend for his confidence.”

UBC was also buoyed by the young guard
trio of Isaiah Solomon, Jordan Jensen-
Whyte and rookie Kedar Wright. They all

got big minutes, often with all three on the
court together, and they all found ways

to be productive. Wright had 13 points,
Solomon added 11 and five rebounds, and
Jensen-Whyte dished out six assists to go
with six points and four boards. Rookie
forward Harpreet Randhawa also had a
brief but noticeable performance, fouling
out in just 11 minutes of action but playing
some tough interior defence and chipping
in five points first.

“Tt was a good win for us and especially for
some of the guys who don't usually get all
the minutes. Harp was great defensively I
thought. He fouled out, but played tough
and physical and gave good effort,” Hanson
said. “We also got to play Kedar, Isaiah, and
Jordan together a lot and they played great
defensively.”

Frank Olivier Kouagnia was public enemy
number one for the Birds once again, as
the big man racked up 17 points on 7-for-10
shooting despite being constantly worn
down by UBC's physical post defence. He
finished the series with a very hard-earned
41 total points on 15-for-21 shooting,

not to mention being on both the giving
and receiving end of plenty of physical
punishment under the basket.

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“Tt was a physical game. It was a different
flow to the game tonight, or maybe not

so much of a flow, but the physicality was
there,” Hanson said. “Both teams were
fatigued, and when you play a team back-
to-back like that you're going to have little
rivalries that come up here and there on
the floor.”

Charles Barton also scored 17 for the
Timberwolves to go with his 10 rebounds.
Devin McMurtry added eight points off
the bench for UNBC, who fell to 4-12. They
will have road games at Saskatchewan and
Alberta next weekend.

The T-Birds now move into sole possession
of fourth place and the last Pacific Division
playoff spot that goes along with it. They
are one game up on both Mount Royal and
Trinity Western, and one game back of
third place Thompson Rivers.

Next up for UBC is a road trip to Alberta,
where they will take on 11-5 Lethbridge
and 5-11 Calgary looking to push their win
streak past two games for the first time
this season. The next home action for UBC
comes on February 7 and 8 against UBC
Okanagan.