Second half the difference in Heat defeat

Mitch Goodwin (Kelowna, BC) led the Heat in scoring on Saturday night with 18 points, as part of a 35 point weekend for the second year off-guard. (Photo by Alex Hill)

Men’s Basketball (Canada West conference play)

Saturday, January 18, 2014 SCHEDULE & RESULTS | BOX SCORE

UBC Okanagan Gymnasium, Kelowna, B.C.

KELOWNA, B.C. - After a well-earned triumph over the Trinity Western Spartans Friday night, the UBC Okanagan Heat men's basketball squad wanted to prove that it was no fluke and keep their home win streak alive. Instead, the Spartans regrouped and went all out in the second half of Saturday night’s game to decidedly win 92-70, leaving a bewildered Heat wondering how it all happened.

“Miscommunications,” said Heat fifth-year Landry Ndayitwayeko (Windsor, ON) with regards to some of his team’s errors in quarters three and four. However, he admitted to needing to give credit to the Trinity Offense, which went crazy to the tune of 53% scoring including 6-12 from the three point line.

Ndayitwayeko acknowledged the positives, particularly in the first half, where the Heat were 46.7% from the floor while keeping the Trinity offense at bay. The Spartans shot 42% from the floor in the first half and were a mere 3-15 from the three.

“We were definitely moving the ball a bit better in the first half, and I think we got away from that in the second half,” Ndayitwayeko added. “But they’re a good team, and it’s always harder to beat a good team on back-to-back nights, and they were hungrier than us today.”

The Spartans are still in the quest for the fourth and final seed for playoffs in the hotly contested Pacific division, and came out with fire to right their wrongs and continue that quest tonight.

With the win the Spartans records evens at 7-7, still heavily involved in the Wild West that is Canada West’s Pacific division. Victoria at 12-2 has a clear edge at the top, but spots 2-6 in the Pacific is wide open, Fraser Valley is second at 9-5, and the Spartans are deadlocked with Mount Royal and Thompson Rivers for spots three through five. The Thunderbirds are sixth at 6-8. UNBC and the Heat round out the division.

Ndayitwayeko had 11 points and was 3-7 from the arc, netting a quick six points from downtown in the opening minutes of the game before cooling off. Second-year Heat guard Mitch Goodwin (Kelowna, BC) led all Heat scorers with 18 points while grabbing four rebounds.

Fifth-year Heat guard Yassine Ghomari (Vancouver, BC) was largely absent from the scoreboard after his 24 point night Friday. Ghomari would go for eight points in 27 minutes on the floor.

Fourth-year Denny McDonald dominated down low throughout the game, going for a game-high 22 points and 11 rebounds. Alongside teammate Anthony Ottley at the forward position, the interior woes of the Heat collapsed the defense and allowed the Spartan shooters like Kelvin Smith to run rampant in the second half from the arc.

“I think our defensive rotations weren’t there, and we just didn’t move the ball around enough to give ourselves a chance to win tonight,” Ndayitwayeko also said regarding his team’s second half struggles on defense.

The defeat snaps the Heat’s home win-streak of three, and they are now 3-11 for the season.

When asked about where the team goes moving forward from a disappointing loss such as tonight’s, Ndayitwayeko added that, “The whole team has to be on the same page [the whole game]. If there’s one guy off, it throws everything off, and I feel that we weren’t making the right reads. We can definitely take some good things from the first half, but [we have] a lot of work to do, just have to go back and watch film and see what happens.”

The Heat hit the road next weekend to play the Fraser Valley Cascades for a back-to-back. Friday night’s game tips off at 8 p.m. at the Envision Athletics Centre. The Spartans also return to the Fraser Valley as they host the Thompson Rivers WolfPack for a pair at the Langley Events Centre this weekend.