ABBOTSFORD, B.C. – Unable to slow down the hot shooting of host Fraser Valley Cascades, the Lethbridge Pronghorns were unable to complete a road weekend sweep, falling 102-81 in Abbotsford Saturday night.
The Cascades were coming off a heartbreaking
73-72 defeat on Friday in which a late three-point lead evaporated as Lethbridge's Brett Warren converted a four-point play in the dying seconds.
Their revenge involved raining fire from beyond the arc.
UFV finished 18-for-34 from three-point range, and eight Cascades hit at least one trey. Leading the way was Parm Bains, who finished 5-for-7 from distance on his way to a game-high 21 points.
Lethbridge had an outstanding shooting performance in their own right, but their 10-for-20 effort paled in comparison to the Cascades' pyrotechnics.
The Cascades got off to an inauspicious start defensively as the Pronghorns exploded for 32 first-quarter points, with Scott Mazutinec pouring in 11 in the frame. UFV stayed close, though, with Vick Toor coming off the bench to score six points.
The momentum pivoted the Cascades' way midway through the second quarter. Lethbridge went up 42-37 after a Kyle Peterson three, but the hosts responded with an 11-0 run to grab a 48-42 lead heading to the break. Parm Bains scored five points during that stretch, Matt Cooley threw down a dunk, and Toor capped the surge with a fast-break finish.
The Cascades continued to pour it on after the break, pushing the lead to 19 points in the third quarter, and they cruised from there, leading by as many as 25 in the fourth.
"We could have forced them off the line a little bit better, but sometimes teams just get hot, right?" Lethbridge coach James McKinnon said. "There's not much you can really do when they're hitting threes in our face. 18-for-34, that's a pretty good clip. You can't do much better than that.
"I think we just turned the ball over way too much in that first half. That led to Fraser Valley being able to getting out and running and getting some easy buckets in transition. That didn't really help us going into halftime. That's really what the game came down to."
Joining Parm Bains in double digits for the Cascades were Sukhjot Bains (13 points), Hadzovic (10) and Jordyn Sekhon (10). Vlad Mihaila chipped in with nine points off the bench. The Cascades finished with 25 assists as a team, with Parm Bains and Sukhjot Bains leading the way with six and five, respectively.
Four Pronghorns scored in double figures: Scott Mazutinec (16), Colton Gibb (15), Chad Oviatt (14) and Kyle Peterson (12).
The Cascades basketball teams wrap up their first-semester schedule on the road next weekend, as they visit the Manitoba Bisons for a Friday-Saturday set. The Pronghorns, meanwhile, will be coming back to B.C. to face the UBC Thunderbirds.
