Five-year man Mike Zayonc was big defensively for the Heat and was a strong vocal leader in the team's tough loss to Wesmen. (Photo by Alex Hill)
Men’s Basketball (Canada West conference play)
Friday, January 31, 2014 SCHEDULE & RESULTS | BOX SCORE
UBC Okanagan Gymnasium, Kelowna, B.C.
| Score by Periods |
1st |
2nd |
3rd |
4th |
Total |
|
| Winnipeg |
12 |
17 |
19 |
17 |
65 |
Record: (12-5) |
| UBC Okanagan |
16 |
20 |
14 |
10 |
60 |
Record: (3-14) |
KELOWNA, B.C. - Even though the Heat men's basketball squad held a sound lead for most of the game, a string of missed shots and thrown possessions late in the third and throughout the fourth quarter allowed the Wesmen to mount a comeback. Ultimately, the Heat would fall in a tough 65-60 defeat at home Friday night.
A 27-13 run over a 13 minute span from midway through the third gave the Wesmen life while completely disrupting the Heat’s flow as a few missed layups seemed to throw their offense off balance afterwards.
“I think we had some opportunities to score underneath and that didn’t happen, so for a couple possessions we stopped trusting each other and we start to force the issue with the ball, and that turns your shot selection into a difficult shot,” said Heat coach Pete Guarasci postgame, with respect to their difficult stretch in the second half. “It’s a combination of going through a drought, and then trying to solve the drought by doing it individually, and that just prolongs the drought.”
Still, second-year Mitch Goodwin (Kelowna, BC) would make things work individually and refused to be contained from range most of the night, going a perfect 5-5 from three-point range before missing two, wrapping up 6-10 on the night with a game-high 17 points.
The fourth best defense in Canada West showed its prowess, holding the Heat to just 60 points, though they would be 40% from the floor, up from their season average of 37%, including 9-18 from three-point range.
The Heat owned the first two quarters but were outclassed 19-14 and 17-10 through the final two.
“No doubt Winnipeg picked up their pressure in the second half,” Guarasci continued, “and a lot of teams have done that and that’s when we have to start making our plays, and unfortunately tonight we just could not finish plays offensively.”
Winnipeg’s Jelane Pryce kept things difficult for the Heat in the paint, blocking four shots and remaining a constant shadow dogging the Heat’s drive. Andrew Cunningham would lead the Wesmen with 12 points while picking away four steals and grabbing four rebounds. Steven Wesley rounded out the top of the team’s box score with 11 points and eight rebounds.
Fifth-year Landry Ndayitwayeko (Windsor, ON) would chip in 13 points for the Heat while grabbing five boards and serving three assists to round out the home team’s numbers. Fellow fifth-year Mike Zayonc (North Vancouver, BC) provided a big defensive spark, drawing three charges while also putting up eight points and rebounds each. Playing the part of vocal motivator as well, Zayonc’s on-court leadership down the stretch kept the Heat in the thick of things through the final minute.
“Mike’s been a really hard worker this year,” Guarasci said of his soon to graduate veteran. “He’s always worked hard in practice and he wants what’s best for the team. Tonight he had a lot of great moments defensively – I think he took three charges – so hopefully Mike can keep going with that intensity and defense and finish the year strong.”
In defeat the Heat are now 3-14 for the season while the Wesmen improve to 12-5, hot on the tail of Saskatchewan for the right to host the first round of playoffs.
Tomorrow night the Heat will face the visiting Manitoba Bisons while the Wesmen head to Kamloops for a date with the Thompson Rivers WolfPack. Tip-off at the UBC Okanagan gymnasium is at 7 p.m.
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