VICTORIA – An early first quarter run from the University of the Fraser Valley proved to be enough as the #9 Cascades defeated the #8 University of Lethbridge, 91-72, in the play-in round of the Canada West playoffs at the University of Victoria's CARSA Performance Gym, Feb. 21.
Dilveer Randhawa led the way for the Cascades with a 20-point night, including going 5-for-10 from behind the arc. Dario Lopez added 17 points and a game-high eight rebounds for UFV in the win.
Angelo Mbituyimana was two points shy of his season high, recording 27 points for the Pronghorns. He added a team-high five assists along with four rebounds, two blocks, and one steal for Lethbridge. Kymani Pollard and Adam Dalil rounded out the double-digit point scoring efforts for Lethbridge, both finishing with 12.
"It's playoffs, and we have to play our best basketball during this time of year," noted Fraser Valley head coach Joe Enevoldson. "I thought we played really well, especially in the first half. We had great contributions from the bench, and were really focused and did a great job with the game plan and scouting report, putting paper to floor."
It was all Fraser Valley in the first quarter of action, as the Cascades used a quick 7-0 run on a layup and three-pointer from Jake Willemsen followed a Clay Kurtz layup to take an 11-4 lead over Lethbridge at the 6:33 mark of the first quarter.
Mbituyimana's layup put points on the board for the Pronghorns, but would be the only points for Lethbridge over the next four and a half minutes. Using the scoring drought to their advantage, a 13-0 Cascades run seeing points from Willemsen, Kurtz, Lopez, Uyi Ologhola, Randhawa, and capped by a Matthias Kim free throw gave UFV a 24-6 lead heading into the final two minutes of the first quarter.
Four Pronghorn free throws and a Mbituyimana layup matched the six points scored by the Cascades over the final two minutes to put Fraser Valley ahead, 30-12, at the end of the first quarter. The Cascades continued to control the game through the second quarter, outscoring the Pronghorns 27-17 over the frame to hold a 57-29 lead at halftime.
Lethbridge came out of the break with renewed energy, scoring the first four points of the third on a pair of Brady Baines free throws and a Jack Henry-Fox layup to bring Cascades' lead down to 57-33 with 8:47 to play in the third. An 8-0 run for the Pronghorns ending with a Pollard three-pointer narrowed the score even further, 64-45, with just under three minutes to go in the third.
Though Kurtz hit a jumper for Fraser Valley at the buzzer, Lethbridge outscored UFV 21-11 in the third quarter to bring the score to 68-50 in favour of the Cascades at the end of the third.
The Pronghorns were unable to keep the third quarter momentum going in the final frame, with the Cascades finishing with the 23-21 scoring edge to seal their victory, 91-72.
"It's tough to come back in a situation where they have the first punch. The first quarter dictated the entire game," said Pronghorns head coach Kenny Otieno. "The rebounding battle has been an issue for us the last few games, and that was the case again today. I'm proud of our guys, trying to finish strong and trying to come back and change the pace of the game. Either way, I'm proud of my guys. They had a great season in terms of turning things around. Lots for us to learn from going in to next season."
The Cascades will now face the top-seeded University of Victoria Vikes tomorrow, Feb. 22 at 7 p.m. at CARSA. Catch the action on Canada West TV presented by BioSteel.
