The Heat men's basketball team open 2016 with a pair of games against their Interior rival WolfPack, the Thompson Rivers squad are the 10th ranked team in the country and will be in Kelowna for two games against UBC Okanagan this Friday and Saturday. Tip-off at 8 p.m. on Friday and at 7 p.m. on Saturday.
Game Times
Canada West conference games
FRIDAY, JAN 8th, 2016:
8 PM | Basketball (M) (4-4) vs the (#10) Thompson Rivers WolfPack (7-1)
Webcast | Live Stats | Tickets
SATURDAY, JAN 9th, 2016:
7 PM | Basketball (M) vs the (#10) Thompson Rivers WolfPack
Webcast | Live Stats | Tickets
To be played at the gymnasium at UBC Okanagan.
| UBCO | TALE OF THE TAPE | TRU | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 69.4 | 15th | 87.9 |
1st
|
|
| 25.3 | 14th | 32.3 |
2nd
|
|
| 59.8 | 17th | 66.6 |
6th
|
|
| 42.3 | 11th | 48.4 |
1st
|
|
| 5.9 | 16th | 8.5 |
5th
|
|
| 17.4 | 16th | 21.4 |
12th
|
|
| 33.8 | 9th | 39.8 |
1st
|
|
| 13 | 13th | 14.9 |
5th
|
|
| 18.8 | 13th | 19.8 |
10th
|
|
| 69.3 | 9th | 75.3 |
3rd
|
|
| 10.4 | 13th | 10.6 |
12th
|
|
| 23.8 | 16th | 28.1 |
8th
|
|
| 34.1 | 15th | 38.8 |
8th
|
|
| -0.1 | 11th | 2.9 |
6th
|
|
| 10.3 | 17th | 14.4 |
6th
|
|
| 17.9 | 11th | 13.8 |
3rd
|
|
| 6.4 | 12th | 8.6 |
6th
|
|
| 1.3 | 16th | 2.6 |
8th
|
|
| 25 | 17th | 17 |
3rd
|
|
| 71.8 | 1st | 74.6 |
8th
|
|
| 43 | 10th | 40 |
4th
|
|
| 28.9 | 2nd | 35.9 |
12th
|
|
UBC OKANAGAN HEAT (8-7, 4-4 Canada West)CIS National Ranking: //
CanWest Standings: 3rd - Explorer
Last week (Nov 27-28): 1-1 // (Fri W, 87-82), (Sat L, 66-46) at MacEwan
Streak: Lost 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
Kelowna BC: After a best-ever start in Canada West the (4-4) Heat men's basketball team take on the division leader, and tenth ranked (7-1) Thompson Rivers WolfPack, to start the second half of the season this weekend.
Over the break: Coach Pete Guarasci couldn't have been happier with the effort and experience his team had in their late December trip to Victoria, BC. The Vikes opened their new CARSA facility to the Heat and UBCO was able to lift, shoot, and scrimmage to work off the rust. They did play a single game on New Years Eve, falling to UVic 80-70, in their only game action of the trip.
Key Players: Averaging 17.1 points per game, leading the Heat and ninth most in the conference, Aldrich Berrios will be needed to score in bunches to keep up with the powerful 'Pack. He didn't seem to lose his touch over the break as he was the leading scorer in the game against Victoria, with 22 points.
Key Stat: The Heat are .500 but are definitely stronger at home. UBCO is 3-1 at home shooting 44% on the Okanagan hardwood. On the road the Heat are 1-3 and shoot just 40.5% from the field.
Head to Head : (5-5) The teams are even over the four years both have been in Canada West. Last year they split in Kelowna after the WolfPack won both in Kamloops.
#10 THOMPSON RIVERS WOLFPACK (13-3, 7-1 Canada West) CIS National Ranking: No. 10
CanWest Standings: 2nd - Explorer
Last week (Nov 27-28): 2-0 // (Fri W, 87-75), (Sat W, 96-66) vs UFV
Streak: Won 2
2014-15 CW Regular Season Record: 11-9 (3rd in Explorer Division)
2014-15 CW Playoff Record: 2-3
2014-15 Overall Record: 13-13
Last CW Title/Total CW Titles: none
Last CIS Title/Total CIS Titles: none
The 'Pack - The WolfPack are in unfamiliar territory, the team is a legitimate national contender and have a two game lead in the Explorer division. Head coach Scott Clark has his squad 7-1 in Canada West and are an impressive 13-3 overall.
Current Form - The 'Pack go into this game winning their last two games of the semester and look to build another lengthy win straek. The team started the season with five straight wins.
Over the break: TRU made a trip south over the break to get in some training, they didn't go too far though stopping in Billings, Montana to [play a pair of NAIA teams. TRU dropped both falling to Montana-Western (79-55) and Rocky Mountain College (95-60).
Key Players - At the beginning of the season it was all about the big three in Kamloops as Josh Wolfram, Reese Pribilsky, and Volodymyr Iegorov all eliciting the lion's share of opposing coaches scouting reports. As the season has worn on Luke Morris, a 6'4" forward from Mission, BC has really come on. These four players are averaging a combined 72 points per game. Volodymyr Iegorov is leading the team and is third in the conference with 22.1 ppg. Wolfram (21.3 ppg) is fourth in scoring, Pribilsky (15.3 ppg., 20th), and Morris (14.0 ppg., 28th) round out the fierce foursome.
Team stat: With four players averaging over 70 points combined it is no surprise that the 'Pack are the highest scoring team in the conference averaging 87.9 points every night they hit the hardwood. They have never scored less then 74 points in a game.
preseason preview courtesy of Canadawest.org