Ryan Linttell, in just his second year, has started the first team games of the season. (Photo by Greystoke Photography)
Second-year forward from North Vancouver pours in 24 points, including 5-12 from three-point range but the visiting Fraser Valley Cascades best the UBC Okanagan Heat 81-73.
Men's Basketball (Canada West conference play)
Saturday, November 8th, 2014 BOX SCORE | SCHEDULE & RESULTS
UBC Okanagan Gymnasium, Kelowna, B.C.
| FINAL | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UFV (2-0) | 19 | 23 | 19 | 20 | 81 |
| UBC Okanagan (0-2) | 17 | 18 | 22 | 16 | 73 |
KELOWNA, B.C. – Hoping for another chance to steal a win from the favoured Fraser Valley Cascades, the hometown UBC Okanagan Heat men’s basketball squad hung tough once again with their foes through three quarters until a run in the final period saw the Cascades escape to an 81-73 result Saturday night in Kelowna.
24 points for David Manshreck, including 5-12 from three-point range on Saturday night. (Photo by Greystoke Photography)
“I think they were really aggressive defensively to start the game, and that took us out of our offensive rhythm,” said Heat coach Pete Guarasci postgame. “But then our guys found a way to execute to keep the game in reach.”
Down only four points 61-57 at the end of the third, the Heat were poised to pounce on the Cascades. A pair of free-throws from five-year UFV veteran Jasper Moedt (Abbotsford, BC) would give them their largest lead of 13 with 2:42 to go. The Heat would never get closer than within ten through the final whistle.
“I think in the end we had a lot of good looks around the rim, but we didn’t finish a lot of shots that we should have finished,” Guarasci added. “We just left a lot of points off the board and couldn’t come up with back-to-back stops defensively to get us over the hump.”
The weekend victory for the Cascades spoiled a career night for Heat second-year forward David Manshreck (North Vancouver, BC), who went for a game-high 24 points and collected a double-double with 11 rebounds. Manshreck rattled off five big three-pointers at crucial junctions in the second half to keep the Heat in contention with UFV until he fouled out with 1:32 remaining.
Manshrek’s performance was more than just the coincidence of a hot hand, according to his coach. “Dave has done the work in the offseason to make his game more consistent,” Guarasci explained. “He’s a guy we’re going to keep looking to go to during the season, because I think he’s a tough matchup at the four position.”
The battle of the boards was billed as an important margin to improve on coming into tonight, according to Guarasci. Indeed, the Heat would go on to out-rebound their competition 42-35 for the night.
Transition baskets still plagued the Okanagan squad, as the Cascades went for 17 points off of turnovers, of which the Heat committed 20.
The Cascades’ Dominique Brooks and Kevon Parchment each poured in 15 points, while Moedt had a team-high 19 points to go alongside five rebounds, four steals and one block. Four Cascades players reached double-figure scoring for the night, as Majodh Dulay joins the former trio with 12 himself.
Last night’s Heat hero in Mitch Goodwin (Kelowna, BC) followed Manshreck with 12 points on 4-8 shooting with three rebounds. Coming off the bench big for the Heat was rookie Cameron Servatius (Chilliwack, BC), whose 19 minutes of floor time netted him 11 points on 5-6 shooting, two rebounds, one steal and one block.
UBC Okanagan will wrap up the opening weekend of Canada West 2014-15 0-2 while Fraser Valley grabs a 2-0 start.
The Cascades will host UNBC next weekend while the Heat hit the road to Mount Royal in Calgary. Both games will tip-off at 8 p.m. local time. For those watching online the game will be at 7 p.m. PST at canadawest.tv.