Lethbridge – The Lethbridge Pronghorn men's basketball team returns to home court for the first time in 2018 hosting a perennial Canada West title challenger, the UBC Thunderbirds.

The Pronghorns and T-Birds will hit the court at the 1^st Choice Savings Centre, Friday night at 8:00pm and Saturday night at 7:00pm. Both games will also be streamed live on www.canadawest.tv. Friday night's game is also the Canada West Game of the Week and can be view on Canada West TV for free. All other games are pay per view.

Last season, the Pronghorns and T-Birds did not face each other during conference play but UBC swept the Pronghorns in preseason action in Vancouver.

A Look at the Teams
The Pronghorns (10-4) begin the home stretch playing five of their final six games on home court and enjoy their bye week after this weekend's games.

2018 didn't get off to an ideal start for the Pronghorns, traveling to Winnipeg with only eight healthy players and were swept by the Bisons. The Bisons beat the Pronghorns 94-84 and 91-69.

Despite the two losses, the Pronghorns are still ranked second offensively in Canada West, averaging 90.9 points per game. The 'Horns are also first in Canada West in steals (13 per game) and free throws made (253).

This weekend will be the Thunderbirds (10-2) first action of 2018 after having their bye week last weekend. Prior to the semester break, the T-Birds had won eight consecutive and went into the break following a sweep of the Regina Cougars.

UBC is the top offensive team in Canada West, scoring 95.8 points per game and lead the conference in shooting percentage at 50.4%. They are also the top rebounding team in Canada West with 45.7 rebounds per game.

Defensively, the T-Birds are also among the best in Canada West, ranked fourth, allowing 76.5 points against.

Key Players
Missing leading scorer Dejon Burdeaux, the Pronghorn will count on Zac Overwater, Saren Westrop and Kyle Peterson to pick up the slack. Overwater sits second behind Burdeaux, averaging 15.6 points and 7.1 rebounds per game. Westrop and Peterson average 13.9 and 13.3 points per game respectively.

For UBC, Conor Morgan is the key to the T-Birds success. The 6'10 Victoria product leads Canada West in scoring and rebounding, averaging 25 points and 10.3 rebounds per game. Phil Jalapoor sits second in team scoring with 17.3 points.

Another player to watch is 6'10 freshman Grant Shepard. Shepard comes off the bench and is averaging 9.8 points per game in only 15 minutes of action.

Up Next:
The Pronghorns will enjoy a bye week next week and return to action for a home-and-home series with the Calgary Dinos the following week. The Pronghorns will host the opening game of the set, hosting the Dinos Thursday night. The return affair will go Saturday night in Calgary.
 
 
 
 
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