UBC Okanagan men’s basketball lost their second game in Brandon, falling 67-54 Saturday night.
Saturday, November 12th, 2016
FINAL 1 2 3 4 T UBC Okanagan (1-3) 9 16 19 10 54 Brandon (2-2) 14 19 13 21 67
BRANDON, MB - The UBC Okanagan Heat men’s basketball team took on the Brandon Bobcats in the Heat’s second road game of the season on Saturday night. The Heat were looking to bounce back from their second consecutive loss, but fell by the same margin, 13, as they did on Friday night against the Bobcats.
The Heat and the 'Cats were tied at 44 when a Tyvon Cooper made layup for the Bisons with two seconds left in the third frame. The Heat had the scoring edge in the third, 19-13, but the comeback stalled in the fourth quarter and were outscored 21-10 in the last 10 minutes. The fourth saw the Heat held with a long scoreless drought until Spencer Thomas made a layup at the 2:26 mark, the only other made basket for the Heat in the final frame was a three-pointer from Aldrich Berrios 53 seconds in. That Berrios three brought the Heat within one, down 48-47, but the Bisons scored the next 15 points to take a commanding 15-point lead until the Thomas lay in.
UBC Okanagan had the edge statistically in a mix of categories, finishing with one more rebound (36-35) and one more second chance point (7-6). Brandon shot better from the field (45.1% - 33.3%) and from three-point range (40% - 23.5%), out-assisted the Heat (10-7), and got more points from their bench (18-12).
Tyvon Cooper, second year guard for the Bobcats, led all scorers in the game with 23 points. Earl Thompson Jr. and Tyler Anderson also scored in double digits, finishing with 11 and 10 respectively for the ‘Cats.
For the Heat, Aldrich Berrios led the way once again with 17 points on the night. Next behind him was Spencer Thomas, who finished with 10 points. Thomas also tied for most rebounds on Saturday night, as he and Randy Jernidier each pulled down seven boards.
The first half belonged to the home team, as Brandon outscored UBC Okanagan 14-9 and 19-16 in the first two quarters. Thompson Jr. scored 10 of his 11 points in the first half, and the Bisons defence held the Heat to only 32% from the floor through the first twenty minutes of play.
The Brandon Bobcats (2-2) will play their next games on the road, when they travel to play the University of Saskatchewan Huskies on November 18 & 19. The UBC Okanagan Heat (1-3) will play their next games at home on November 18-19, when they will host the Mount Royal Cougars.
~ Grayson Leahy, UBC Okanagan Heat