Friday night at Brownridge Court, the UNBC Timberwolves (1-18) dropped an 84-53 decision to the UBC Thunderbirds. The under-manned Timberwolves were full marks during the first-half as they battled the division leaders t a 34-33 score at half. The veteran UBC squad though pulled away in the second half and earned their 14th win of the season in the process. Victor Radocaj led the T-Birds with 14 points while Josh Gillespie countered with 14 for UNBC.
Despite being outscored 25-16 in the first quarter, Todd Jordan’s club had plenty of positives going for them. First-year guard Isaiah Bias rared out of the gates with eight points. Josh Gillespie pulled down three first-quarter rebounds and also added five points. Gus Goerzen shot two-for-two from the field for UBC and paced the visitors with seven points while Fareed Shittu snagged three boards.
The plucky Timberwolves had an even better showing in the second quarter as they outscored UBC 17-9. After a scoreless first quarter, Ben White led all UNBC players with five points in the second and with the seconds ticking down on the clock, Marcus Wilson brought the Brownridge Crowd to it’s feet with an emphatic dunk! UBC’s top performer in the second quarter was Victor Radocaj as he poured in five. Adam Olsen and Nikola Guzina also had buckets.
At halftime the score showed UBC with a slim 34-33 edge. Radocaj led the ‘Birds with 10 points while Bias’ eight were tops for UNBC. On the glass Gillespie led everyone with four first-half boards.
UBC found an extra gear in the third quarter as they outscored the Timberwolves 28-10. Shittu led the way with eight and Adam Olsen began to heat up as he chimed in with five. For UNBC it was the duo of White (6) and Gillespie (4) that accounted for all of their third-quarter offense.
The final quarter yielded a 21-11 run of play for UBC. Eight different Thunderbirds found the scoresheet on the final quarter with Nylan Roberts leading the way with four. UNBC’s top scorers in the final quarter were Wilson and Gillespie who had three points apiece.
When all was said and done, the final score showed UBC with an 84-53 victory. Gillespie and Radocaj each finished with 14 points apiece to lead their respective teams while the rebounding leaders for the game were UBC’s Shittu (8) and Nylan Roberts (6) along with UNBC’s Gillespie (6) and Miller Davies (6).
These two sides will meet once more Saturday night at 7 p.m.