VANCOUVER - UBC Thunderbirds earned the weekend sweep over the Lethbridge Pronghorns with an 82-66 victory. It was the Thunderbirds defence that proved the deference maker against the Horns on Saturday night. The Thunderbirds defencive control was enough to compensate for struggles on the offensive end as UBC committed 24 turnovers.
Kymani Pollard led the Pronghorns in scoring with 24 points and 4 rebounds while Shae Gibb added 16 points and 3 steals.
James Woods led the way for UBC once again with 18 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists, while Brian Wallack nearly matched him with 17 points and 9 rebounds. Tobi Akinkunmi was strong off the bench with 10 points, 5 rebounds and 3 blocks. Woods got the T-Birds off to a fast start, scoring 10 points in the first seven minutes to put UBC up 19-10. The Thunderbirds put pressure on the Lethbridge defence and earned eight free throw attempts in the opening quarter, which ended 25-12 in favour of the hosts.
The Thunderbirds struggled with turnovers early in the second quarter, but the defence continued to stand tall to maintain the lead. A Nikola Guzina block led to a fastbreak finished by an Arnaud Konan jumper that put UBC up 36-23 as they continued to attack the basket. The T-Birds closed the half strong with a run capped off by a Woods step-back three-pointer with just four seconds left to make it 46-28. UBC had four blocks in the half, two each from Guzina and Akinkunmi.
The Pronghorns made a push to begin the third with five straight points, but the Thunderbirds again had the answer with a run keyed by threes from Adam Olsen and Toni Maric off the bench.
Wallack was key in the third frame with eight points and five boards, and the T-Birds ended the quarter up 64-39 with their biggest lead of the night. Lethbridge again made a brief push to begin the final frame with a 12-5 run, but that's as close as they would get as UBC cruised to victory. Micah Jessie put a cap on the win with a chase-down block in the final few seconds and the final score stood at 82-66.
Next up, the Pronghorns take on the UBCO Heat in their Home Opener on November 10 at 6 p.m. MST.
