The Heat men’s basketball team earns weekend split with Timberwolves after the (78-57) victory on Saturday night.
Saturday, November 14th, 2015
UBC Okanagan, Kelowna, BC
FINAL 1 2 3 4 T UNBC (1-3) 12 12 24 9 57 UBC Okanagan (1-3) 16 15 24 23 78
KELOWNA, BC –The second year guard, in his first start of the season, responded to the role as he led his UBC Okanagan men’s basketball team to a (78-57) home court victory, their first Canada West regular season in 2015-16 against the UNBC Timberwolves at UBC Okanagan.
Berrios, who finished with a career high of 32 points on Saturday night, was able to boost the Heat into the lead late in the first quarter. He converted five consecutive points from the free throw line giving them a 16-12 advantage over the Timberwolves. The offensive contribution of Berrios gave the Kelowna squad a buffer to maintain the lead until the final buzzer.
After a fairly even game throughout the first half, the third quarter was marked by two runs for UBC Okanagan, a (6-3) run to put them up by 10 at the 7:00 minute mark, and a (14-7) run to finish off the quarter and send the Heat into the final frame with a (55-48) lead. In the middle of those two runs the T-Wolves had a (13-4) run of their own, drawing to within at (40-41) at the 3:37 mark. Both teams scored 24 in the third.
UNBC fought to stay in the game until that last third quarter push by UBCO, when the Heat’s momentum reached its peak. This surge of energy led the Kelowna squad to close out the game with a (23-9) fourth quarter and grab the win (78-57).
UBC Okanagan’s scoring ability improved significantly from Friday night’s game. From the field, UBCO captured (26-57) of their attempts giving them a 46% average compared to their 39% average (21-54). The biggest impact on the game for the home team was their long range efficiency, as their three point shooting jumped up to (6-17, 35%) compared to their (1-15, 7%) mark on Friday.
Aldrich Berrios had a high of 32 points on (9-15) shooting. He was deadly from long range hitting on 62-percent (5-8) from the three-point line, and was also perfect from the charity stripe (9-9) to round out his night. After Berrios, the Heat received offense from a variety of players, including Dean Johnston who chipped in with 12 points and eight rebounds, Mitch Goodwin (11), and Randall Mosca and Spencer Thomas who each produced eight points. Eight players for UBC Okanagan scored in the win.
The Heat’s aggressive defense prevented Rhys Elliott and Billy Cheng, two of UNBC’s leading scorers, to get in rhythm. Elliott and Cheng combined for a total of 17 points compared to their combined 29 points in Friday’s game. Elliott led UNBC in scoring with 16 points, Colin Plumb followed with 11, and Austin Chandler with nine points and six rebounds.
UNBC’s shooting percentage drastically decreased from 45% ( 21-47) in their Friday win to just 32% (19-59) from the field in tonight’s game. Their three point success rate also dropped from 31% ( 5-16) to 23% (7-30).
The Heat were also able to take advantage of the boards capturing 41 rebounds compared to the 32 UNBC obtained. Off of the boards, the Heat were able to bury 12 points off of second chances compared to the two scored by UNBC.
With tonight’s win UBC Okanagan boost their record to 1-3 and will be back at home this upcoming weekend facing off against Mount Royal University in a two-game series. They tip off at 8 p.m. on Friday and 7 p.m. on Saturday. The Timberwolves move to a record of 1-3 and host the University of Fraser Valley next weekend.
~ Rachel Parker // Heat Communications