A 19-1 start to the third quarter melts the Timberwolves chances of a home win as the Heat win (72-50) in Prince George on Friday night.
Friday, January 22nd, 2016
Charles Jago Sporting Centre, Prince George, BC
FINAL 1 2 3 4 T UBC Okanagan (6-7) 16 16 25 15 72 UNBC (3-10) 15 9 12 14 50
PRINCE GEORGE, BC – The UBC Okanagan Heat used a strong third quarter to pull away and defeat the UNBC Timberwolves 72-50 in the opener of a weekend doubleheader on Friday night at the Charles Jago Centre.
Aldrich Berrios continued his recent strong play against the Timberwolves, following up a 32-point effort in November with a monster game for the Heat, leading all scorers with 20 points, eight rebounds and seven assists, while Cameron Friesen chipped in with 13 points and three rebounds.
Spencer Thomas posted a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds for the Heat, who outrebounded the Timberwolves 41-28. Cam Friesen added 13 points, making 3-4 from long distance while Austin Penrose (8) and Buzz Truss (7) combined for 15 points off the bench.
On UNBC’s side of the ball, Colin Plumb led the charge with 15 points and six rebounds, while Marcus MacKay added 13 points.
In his first start since Billy Cheng went down with a knee injury, Elliot Rowe added seven points for the Timberwolves (3-10), who shot 23.3 per cent from three-point range compared to an incredible 52.6 per cent clip for the Heat.
The Heat came out firing to start the game, establishing an early 8-2 advantage in the game’s early moments.
From there, the Timberwolves clawed back in a back and forth affair, with a late three from Plumb cutting the UBC Okanagan advantage to 16-15 through 10 minutes.
The Timberwolves kept the game within a single possession midway through the second quarter, though they went cold afterward, not making a basket in the final 4:52 before halftime, allowing the Heat to take a 32-24 advantage into the locker room.
UBC Okanagan turned things up to open the second half, using a 17-4 run to turn the game on its head with a 49-28 advantage and 3:24 to play in the third quarter.
The Timberwolves fought to get back into the game, but the Heat had all the answers as they led 57-36 with 10 minutes to play.
With the win UBC Okanagan move into sole possession of third place in the Explorer division as their record improves to 6-7 while UNBC slips to 3-10. The Heat and Timberwolves will lock up once more on Saturday at 7 p.m., a game which can be seen on CanadaWest.TV.
~ With notes from Geordie Carragher, UNBC Sports Information