This weekend the UFV men’s basketball team played their last two away games of the regular season. After winning two games against the Mount Royal University Cougars the previous weekend, the Cascades headed to Kamloops to face off against the Thompson Rivers University (TRU) Wolfpack on Friday, Jan. 31, and Saturday, Feb. 1.
When Friday’s game started, the Cascades quickly took the lead. The Cascade’s Sukhjot Bains opened the scoring with a three-point basket, only 10 seconds into the game. Quickly after, Parm Bains added three points to the Cascades’ score when he drained a shot from outside the three-point line. The Cascades continued to increase their lead over Wolfpack in the first quarter. Despite the Wolfpack answering UFV with points of their own, by the time the first quarter had ended, the Cascades held a lead of 33-23.
Throughout the second quarter, the Cascades continued to outscore the Wolfpack. After a minute of play, TRU’s Kyrin Cybenko fouled Cascades’ Matt Cooley. Cooley was awarded two free throws, of which he sank one, marking the first point of the quarter. After the second quarter was finished, the Cascades remained in the lead, with a score of 59-42.
When the two teams started playing after halftime, the Wolfpack began to close the scoring gap. Although they were unable to take the lead away from the Cascades at any point in the third quarter, the home team was able to turn the Cascades’ 17-point lead into just a one-point difference. The quarter ended with the Cascades holding on to the lead, 77-76.
After five-and-a-half minutes of play in the fourth quarter, the Wolfpack took the lead for the first time in the game. Though it looked to be a turning point for TRU, the Cascades’ Vick Toor quickly silenced the home team’s fans when he took the lead back 10 seconds later. Although the rest of the game was a close battle, the Cascades were able to hold the lead and win with a score of 100-91.
The next day, the two teams both showed that they were determined to win. The first quarter ended with the Wolfpack holding a lead of 22-18; however, by the time the second had ended, the Cascades bounced back and took the lead, with a 45-40 lead.
In the third quarter, the two teams continued to battle. After TRU’s Joe Davis opened the quarter’s scoring with a layup for two points, the Wolfpack’s Anton Bilous drained a three-point shot, which tied up the game at 45-45. From here, the two teams traded baskets, and by the end of the quarter, the score remained tied, now at 56-56.
With just nine seconds off the clock in the fourth quarter, Cascades’ Jordyn Sekhon pushed his team into the lead when he drained his only three-point attempt of the game. For the remainder of the quarter, UFV held on to the lead. When the final buzzer signalled the end of the game, the Cascades won, 82-73.
Since the Cascades returned from the holiday break, the team has gone on to win all but one game. Next weekend, the Cascades will enter their last weekend of regular season with a nine-game winning streak. UFV will host the University of Regina Cougars at 8 p.m. and 7 p.m., on Friday, Feb. 7 and Saturday, Feb. 8, respectively.
Image: UFV Athletics
Photo: Vick Toor
