Ghomari delivers win from the line

Ghomari was 15-17 from the charity stripe in Friday night's win. His 74 (74-91) made free throws is the most in the Canada West and 3rd most in the CIS.

Men's Basketball (Canada West conference play)

Friday, January 17, 2014 SCHEDULE & RESULTS | BOX SCORE

UBC Okanagan Gymnasium, Kelowna, BC

KELOWNA, B.C. - It was a dream night for Heat veteran Yassine Ghomari (Vancouver, BC), who put his team on his shoulders down the stretch of the game and carried them to a 75-73 win over the visiting Trinity Western Spartans in Kelowna Friday night.

Ghomari lead all scorers with 24 points, but his biggest asset against the Spartans was his pressurizing defense against the opposing guards, particularly veteran Mark Perrin who was held to only 6 points on 2-13 shooting while also getting fellow vet Robert Rodriguez into foul trouble to keep him off the floor.

“We had a good scout on them,” Ghomari said of the Spartan backcourt. “[Rodriguez], he’s trying to get to the rim. He’s really a ‘break down’ player, so we just tried to play solid, not too aggressive, just stay in front of him the whole time. [Perrin], he’s more of a complete player I’d say. He’s trying to get hot, hit the three sometimes, get to the rim … so I just have to play him honest.”

The Spartans struggled from long distance hitting on just 5-24 from three, 20.8%, compared to their normal 34.5%.

Despite abysmal shooting in the first quarter, the Heat surged back from a deficit and went on a 21-13 run in the middle of the second quarter to take a 41-35 lead heading into the half.

The lead would be enjoyed for most of the game until the back-and-forth battle in the fourth that saw the combined efforts of Ghomari, second-year Mitch Goodwin (Kelowna, BC) and fifth-year wing Landry Ndayitwayeko (Windsor, ON) do some damage from range while also employing the team’s trademark defense to shut the Spartans’ perimeter down—Trinity would go 2-12 from three-point range in the second half and only 5-24 for the game.

Ndayitwayeko was 2-4 from three and finished with 12 points as his team went 37.5% from distance (9-24).

For every Batman there’s a Robin, and most nights Ghomari and Goodwin seem to do a rock-paper-scissors for which role they’ll play. The duo once again did not disappoint as Goodwin followed closely on his senior teammate’s toes with 17 points on 5-15 shooting, including 3-8 from the arc, along with five rebounds and four assists. Goodwin had 11 points heading into the half, helping give the Heat their cushion for the duration of the game.

“It’s great playing with him,” Ghomari said postgame. “He’s very unselfish, he’s great to play with, and he’s always getting better. We gel very well together and we’re both looking for each other. When we’re both on…” He let his final comments trail off with a knowing smile.

Ghomari would pick up four rebounds, two assists and two steals to fill up his stat sheet. On top of that, 15 of his points were accumulated from the free-throw line where he went a ridiculous 15-17. Yassine now sits ninth in Canada West in FT%, making 74-91 (81.3%).

It was Denny McDonald doing work for Trinity Western as he led his team with 14 points and eight rebounds. Rodriguez still managed 13 points, seven rebounds and three assists despite the time spent on the bench with foul trouble.

The win is the Heat’s third of the season, third straight at home, and first of 2014 as they improve to 3-10. Meanwhile the Spartans fall to 6-7.  UBC Okanagan will go for their fourth straight home win when they host these same Spartans on Saturday night, tip-off at 7 p.m.