Scheduled Game: FRASER VALLEY*

87

GAME RESULTS 1 2 T Fraser Valley 46 41 87 Trinity Western 48 47 95 « FINAL

95

Game Recap

Men’s Basketball (Canada West)
Saturday, December 02, 2006
TWU (95) UCFV (87)

SPARTANS ARE 7-5 AFTER SWEEP OVER CASCADES
Banman and Vroom combine for 42 points in win

LANGLEY, British Columbia – Brian Banman (4th, Kelowna, B.C.) followed his strong finish from two nights ago with an impressive all-round performance to lead the Trinity Western Spartans to a 95-87 victory over the University of Fraser Valley Cascades (2-10) Saturday evening at the David E. Enarson gymnasium.  Finishing with 21 points, seven rebounds, and seven assists, Banman shined on the stat-sheet, but second-year forward Joe Vroom (2nd, Abbotsford, B.C.) had a career night with 21 points.

“The thing about Brian is that, when he doesn’t have to carry the whole load and guys are finishing, especially the posts, he doesn’t feel like he has to force shots, so he can just play,” TWU Head Coach Stan Peters commented.  “And when he’s allowed to just play, he is incredible...but it all is attributed to Joe Vroom and David Bron finishing.”

Vroom achieved career-highs in points (21), field-goal attempts (9), field-goals made (6), free-throw attempts (13), and free-throws made (9).  His previous high for points was 13, recorded against Ryerson on October 13 of this year.

The Spartans operated with a small lead for nearly the entire game; the Cascades just would make sure of that.  In the first half, TWU’s largest gap over the visiting UCFV was seven, and it looked like it could have been more.  Statistically, the Spartans forced the Cascade to 21 turnovers in the first, while giving up the ball only ten times.

“I think the guys realized we did a better job tonight when we started to build momentum, not to lose momentum.  The way we lose momentum is committing fouls and putting them on the line.  Giving up offensive rebounds kills momentum.  Turning the ball over, unforced errors kills momentum,” said Coach Peters.  “In the second half, I thought we did a much better job controlling the defensive boards.”

Fraser Valley shot 47.2% to Trinity Western’s 39% to stay close in the game.  At the half, the score was 48-46 for the Spartans.  Banman led the way with 12 points at the break, and for the Cascade, Jamie Vaughn (Chilliwack, B.C.) and Lee Jackson (Olympia, Wash.) had 11 and 10 points respectively.

UCFV raked in 11 offensive rebounds through the first 20 minutes, but in the second half were limited to only four.  According to Peters, it was the willingness to do gutsy things that proved to be a determining factor in the game.

“One of the things that was really gutsy is that Taylor Armstrong [4th, Big Stone, A.B.] took somewhere around four charges and Joe Vroom took two or three,” noted the TWU Coach.  “We sacrificed our body tonight as a whole, and I thought that was the difference in the game.”

In the second half, UCFV held the lead with 17:48 still on the clock with the score 54-52.  The Spartans tied the game on the ensuing possession as Vroom scored, and the Cascades would stay close for the rest of the game, but couldn’t match the offense led by Banman.

Fraser Valley had solid performances from Vaughn, who finished the game with 19 points and 12 rebounds, Jackson with 17 points and six assists, and Duane Wilson (Surrey, B.C.) with a double-double of 10 points and 10 rebounds.

The Trinity Western team created good opportunities for each other, and they had 23 assists to show for it.  Peters attributed their success in that category to their posts, who finished well: Vroom, David Bron (5th, Surrey, B.C.) and Armstrong combined to make ten of 18 shots.  Fraser Valley accumulated 22 assists for their team and also scored well in the paint, but an 8-0 Spartan run, ending at the 2:26 mark in the second half made the lead 13 for the Spartans.  A late push cut the lead to seven with :42 left in the game, but the Spartans held on.

TWU play their next games over the Christmas break on the 28th, 29th, and 30th of December in Victoria at Guy Vetrie Invitational.

Game Notes: Career-highs for TWU’s Joe Vroom: 9 FGA ties high previously set against York 12/30/05; 13 FTA surpasses 10 vs. Lethbridge 1/13/06; 9 FTM surpasses 7 vs. Lethbridge 1/13/06...Turnovers TWU 23 UCFV 41...Steals TWU 17 UCFV 8...FTA TWU 31 UCFV 30...FT% TWU 87.1 UCFV 66.7...

- TW -

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