“We looked at alumni night, and wanted to honour the past,” said head coach Joe Enevoldson. “Those jerseys are essentially replicas of the teams that won the national championship in 2000, 02, and 04.”
With uniforms paying homage to those championship teams — led by former Cascades head coach Pat Lee and his son and star player Mike Lee, now the father of current Cascades Jaylen and Isaiah Lee — UFV took the court determined to make a statement. And they did exactly that, showing Canada West that they mean business heading into playoff season.
After dropping their first two games of 2026 in Victoria to open the second half of the season, the Cascades returned home to Abbotsford and put on a clinic against the No. 3 nationally ranked UBC Thunderbirds. UFV delivered a dominant performance, sweeping the weekend series and maintaining their third place standing in the Pacific Division.
“I said to the guys in the team room, ‘This can’t be the best we play this year,’” Enevoldson said. “‘We’re still two weeks out before playoffs — this can’t be our national championship.’”
With the postseason looming, every win matters for the Cascades as they push for home-court advantage. Against perennial powerhouse UBC, Enevoldson’s squad rose to the occasion, further cementing their place among Canada’s elite.
“We’re starting to hit our stride, [and] we knew all along that we had the pieces in place that could make it happen. You want to be playing your best basketball going into playoffs.”
The spark that Bennett O’Connor has brought to the Cascades has been nothing short of incredible. The third-year guard exploded for a season high 27 points in Saturday’s game, shooting 9-for-18 from the field, 3-for-6 from beyond the arc, and a perfect 6-for-6 from the free throw-line.
Despite O’Connor’s best performance as a Cascade, the Fall City, Washington hooper is not content just yet.
“[We] just got to keep going — can’t be satisfied at all — come back and practice and keep getting better. The best teams peak at around this time, hopefully that can be us.”
The Cascades could not have picked a better venue to take down UBC. The Athletic Centre has been a house of horrors for visiting men’s teams this season. UFV holds a 7-2 record at home this year, tied for third best in Canada West alongside UBC, trailing only Winnipeg and Mount Royal at 8-2, and Victoria at 8-1.
Much of the Cascades’ success in the standings has been fueled by their improved play at home, a significant jump from last season’s disappointing 5-6 record in the Valley.
“We just have a different level of energy,” Enevoldson said after the team’s sixth straight home win. “We don’t get rattled at home, teams are generally better at home, and it’s hard to win on the road in Canada West. You got to take care of business, and we did that against the number three team in the country this weekend.”
As the Canada West playoffs approach, securing home-court advantage will be critical for Enevoldson’s squad as they look to climb the postseason ladder and punch their ticket to Calgary for the 2026 Men’s Final 8.
Interview has been edited for length and clarity.
