Heat men's basketball host Cougars

For the second straight weekend the Heat men's basketball team will host a pair of games at UBC Okanagan. Both Friday (Nov. 20) and Saturday (Nov. 21) it will be the Mount Royal Cougars as the opponents, tip-off at 8 p.m. on Friday and at 7 p.m. on Saturday.

UBC OKANAGAN HEAT (5-5, 1-3 Canada West)
CIS National Ranking: //
CanWest Standings: T3 - Explorer
Last week: /1-1 / Fri L vs UNBC (64-48) / Sat W vs UNBC (78-57)
Streak: Wom 1
2014-15 CW Regular Season Record: 3-17
2014-15 CW Playoff Record: /
2014-15 Overall Record: 4-26
Last CW Title/Total CW Titles: NA
Last CIS Title/Total CIS Titles: NA

• SCHEDULE
• ROSTER
• STATS
• STANDINGS

Kelowna BC-  The UBC Okanagan men’s basketball team ended their second weekend of regular season games with a split against UNBC. The Heat will be hosting the Mount Royal Cougars this weekend. The First game will take place on Friday, November 20th with the tip off scheduled from 8 p.m. The second game will take place on Saturday, November 20th with the game set to start at 7 p.m.

Key Players: Second year guard Aldrich Berrios finished Saturday night’s game against UNBC with a career high of 32 points, Berrios went (9-15) from the field, and went 62-percent (5-8) from the three-point line, and was also perfect from the charity stripe (9-9) to round out his night. 6-foot eight forward Dean Johnston also impressed, the second year finished the weekend with 16 points and nine rebounds, he is also leading the team averaging 5.8 rebounds per game in their four league games to date.

Key Stat -  The Heat won the boards battles last weekend and out-rebounded UNBC both nights. Their rebound rate stands at 34.8 rebounds per game, putting them 14th in Canada West. Johnston (5.8 rpg.),  rookie guard Spencer Thomas (5.3 rpg.) and Austin Penrose (5.0 rpg.) are all averaging five or more rebounds a game. Buzz Truss has (7) offensive rebounds in just 75 minutes of floor time.

Head to Head : The Heat’s record stands 2-6 against Mount Royal. The Cougars were able to capture the last two games (Jan 16, 74-69, Jan 17, 85-70) in Kelowna of the four game set in their 2014/2015 season.

MOUNT ROYAL COUGARS (3-7, 1-3  Canada West)            
CIS National Ranking: //
CanWest Standings: T3 - Explorer
Last week: / 0-2 / Fri L vs TRU (101-72) / Sat L vs TRU (79-66)
Streak: Lost 3
2014-15 CW Regular Season Record: 10-10
2014-15 CW Playoff Record: //
2014-15 Overall Record: 10-10
Last CW Title/Total CW Titles: none
Last CIS Title/Total CIS Titles: none

• SCHEDULE
• ROSTER
• STATS
• STANDINGS

Mount Royal Cougars-  The Cougars haven’t had the best start to their season, losing both of their weekend series games against Thomson Rivers and splitting their home opening weekend with Macewan. The Squad will make a trip to play the Heat this weekend and will be in Kelowna at UBC Okanagan.

Current Form - The Cougars go into this game with a 1-3 record and stand 14th in the division after losing both games at home against Thomson Rivers.

Key Players -  6’8 forward, Brett Layton has an impressive 68.4 as his field goal percentage, putting him third in the category, another guard James Lefebvre has combined for a total of 32 points in the weekend series against Thomson Rivers, he is averaging 15.8 points per game on the season,  and senior Derek Wolf is assisting his teammates score with  41% from the field putting him 14th in the category.

preseason preview courtesy of Canadawest.org

Number of new players: 7 // Key Recruits: Ty Cuperus (F/Perth, AUS/Sterling HS); Shay Foggo (F/Calgary, AB/Crescent Heights HS); Matthew Gray (G/Victoria, BC/Oak Bay Secondary); Neil Phillip (G/Calgary, AB/SAIT); Tyis Yellow Horn (G/Piikini Nation, AB/Chestermere, HS); Tethloach Thokbuom (F/Calgary, AB/Western Canada HS); Brett Layton (F/Calgary, AB/ Sir Winston Churchill HS)

Number of departing players: 5 // Key Losses Oluwafemi Ogun (F/5); Deng Awak (G/5); Awet Abraha (G/5); Manok Akwl (G/4); Kyle Wilson (F/5) 

Key performer: The Cougars will field a very different line up this season that will include seven new recruits but it will be two veterans that will make the difference this season. Fifth year James Lefebvre and fourth year Derek Wolf will try to lead the Cougars to the playoffs after narrowly missing last season. Lefebvre, forced to play post most of last season due to injury, will finally play in his natural position. Derek Wolf will take over the majority of the ball handling responsibilities after the departure of Deng Awak and Awet Abraha.

Coach Quote: "We’ve got a lot of new guys this year, we’ve got a lot of new energy around the program and it’s exciting but certainly we have a lot of room to build and grow. How quickly we can develop with our young guys and grow as a team will determine how successful we will be. I really like our roster right now, I really like how the guys are working and playing together. We are looking forward to a good season here. Consistency will definitely be the key and if we can play with consistently then we will have success." – Head Coach Marc Dobell

Key storyline: Size is what will define the Cougars in 2015-16. After years of being a notoriously small squad, the Cougars went out and recruited some tall, long forwards this past offseason. The Cougars now have four players six-foot-seven or taller and do not have a single player on the roster under six-feet. Their combination of size and speed will help them match up better with the top teams in the conference.