Scheduled Game: BRITISH COLUMBIA*

77

GAME RESULTS 1 2 T UBC 38 39 77 « FINAL TWUM 32 42 74

74

Game Recap

Men's Basketball (Conference)
Friday, January 10, 2003
TWU Spartans (74) vs. the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds (77)

Thriller Ends in Defeat

Langley, British Columbia - Oh, the agony of defeat! TWU's men's basketball team hosted the UBC Thunderbirds tonight in a thrilling game that kept the sellout crowd on the edges of their seats for the duration. Two last second 3-pointers were heaved at the basket but neither would fall, instead taunting Spartan players and fans by rolling around on the rim before time ran out and UBC took the win, 77-74. Even with the disappointing outcome, TWU fans knew they'd gotten their money's worth and showed their appreciation by giving the men a standing ovation.

The Spartans came out shooting from the hip, going up 5-0 less than a minute into the half, but the T-Birds quickly cut into that lead. Ten minutes into the half, UBC was up 18-16 before a jumper by Adam Friesen tied it up. Back-to-back threes by Kyle Russell and Casey Archibald gave the T-Birds an 8-point lead (29-21) that the Spartans narrowed only slightly, to go into the half trailing 38-32.

The second half was similarly back and forth with the Spartans fighting their way from behind the entire way. At the ten-minute mark UBC was up 57-53. The closest TWU would get was with 12 seconds left when Ryan Jobs hit a layup to put them within one point, 75-74. After Coach Peters' timeout, the Spartans fouled UBC to put them back on the line and force them to convert free throws under pressure. Casey Archibald did just that and gave the T-Birds their final lead of the game, 77-74. After inbounding the ball, Friesen raced up the court and managed to get off a decent shot even with two defenders in his face. With the clock ticking, Jon Lundgren snatched the rebound and heaved a fade-away three that also rolled around the iron and out. Alas, time expired before another Spartan could attempt to even the score.

Although tonight's matchup featured the #1 offensive team in Canada West (UBC), it was the #1 defensive team in Canada West (TWU) that most affected the final score, even in defeat. The T-Birds came in averaging 89.2 points per game, but tonight were held to 77-twelve points below their average.

Two of the leading scorers in Canada West did not disappoint tonight, although TWU's Adam Friesen (4th in CW) had the audacity to leapfrog past UBC's Kyle Russell (3rd in CW), outscoring him 26-21. Russell shot 6-13 from the field, but struggled at the line, going a Shaq-like 8-15. Meanwhile, Friesen had the hot hand, shooting 9-18 from the field and 4-10 from 3-point.

TWU and UBC go head-to-head again tomorrow night at David E. Enarson Gymnasium. Tip-off is set for 8:00pm.

Game Notes: This game was decided at the charity stripe, as evidenced by the last five minutes of the game, which was a constant parade of T-Birds to the line (their last field goal was at 5:37 before scoring their last 12 points from free throws)...UBC was 31-42 from the line, compared to TWU's 11-15... UBC's win streak extends to six, while TWU's is snapped at five...Jon Lundgren broke the school CIS record for most rebounds, hauling down 16...

-TW-

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