Scheduled Game: BRITISH COLUMBIA*

71

GAME RESULTS 1 2 T UBC Thunderbirds 32 39 71 TWUM 43 45 88 « FINAL

88

Game Recap

Men's Basketball (Conference)
Saturday, January 11, 2003
TWU Spartans (88) vs. the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds (71)

T-Birds' Wings Clipped

Langley, British Columbia - Trinity Western's men's basketball team had a point to prove tonight and they came out determined to defeat the visiting UBC Thunderbirds, especially after losing a game they felt they deserved to win (last night's contest). The Spartans' determination only increased after the women pulled off a huge upset and defeated the #5-ranked UBC women 71-67 in the first of the night's doubleheader. Their focus paid off as they completed the evening's sweep of UBC, winning handily 88-71.

After witnessing the exhilarating finish of the women's game, Spartan fans were rarin' to make some noise even before the opening tipoff. Overall numbers were only slightly lower than last night, but the noise level was doubled thanks to a large contingent of "drum"-beating fans who cheered and sang loudly throughout the contest.

The only time UBC would lead in this game was in the opening seconds of the first half when Kyle Russell hit the first shot of the night to put his team ahead 2-0. From then on they were forced to play catch-up as the Spartan defense swarmed and chased and their offense wreaked havoc.

It was evident right away that TWU wanted this match that much more than the T-Birds did. The Spartans knew that in order to win this game they had to shut down the UBC offense and not allow them to creep back into the game. Although UBC managed to cut a 20-point deficit down to 11 at halftime, and got as close as seven (48-41) early in the second half, TWU buckled down and would not allow them to get any closer.

"The guys were super-focused today in our shootaround and film session. I downplayed the game and just talked technical stuff, I didn't give a ‘ra-ra' speech. The guys were ready to go; you could see it in their eyes," said Coach Stan Peters. "And with a crowd like we had tonight, they just build on the guys' enthusiasm to play. It was fun. I think that was the most fun I've had yet!"

UBC's Kyle Russell was the game's high scorer, with 31 points (as well as 8 rebounds) while Jon Lundgren led the Spartans with 21 points and 9 rebounds.

TWU improves to 7-5 with the win and UBC drops to 8-5. This weekend's results should have a significant impact on next week's CIS rankings, as UBC was ranked #6 coming into this matchup and TWU was ranked #13.

The Spartans are now off to Victoria, BC to play the University of Victoria Vikes on January 17 & 18.

Game Notes: TWU was hot from everywhere on the floor tonight, shooting 48.4% from the field, 46.7% from 3-point and 73.1% from the free throw line...meanwhile UBC shot 36.7%, 26.1% and 67.4%, respectively...the Spartans' lead was enough that the game was not as critically affected by the disparity in free throws as it was last night, but there was still a noticeable difference with UBC shooting 29-43 from the line, compared to TWU's 19-26...for the second night in a row, three Spartans fouled out...Logan Kitteringham played most of the second half with 4 fouls...Adam Friesen played all 40 minutes of the game...

-TW-

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