VANCOUVER – The UBC Thunderbirds used a dominant low-post performance to roll over the Calgary Dinos 82-63 on Friday night at War Memorial Gym.
BOX SCORE
MBB: T-Birds v. Calgary (Nov. 30, 2012) Gallery
UBC won the game down low, with a 46-20 advantage scoring in the paint and an 11-1 edge in second-chance points thanks to 11 offensive rebounds.
The T-Birds got a career-high 21 points from
David Wagner, who looked excellent handling a heavy workload with the team's other centre
Jared Casey out with an illness.
“We wanted to get David some more touches inside. His development this year has been incredible,” said UBC head coach
Kevin Hanson. “He's playing unselfish, he's rebounding, you could see he was getting gassed from playing so many minutes, but for a second-year guy he's doing a very good job for us.”
Wagner added eight rebounds and two blocks.
Brylle Kamen also had a monster night down low for the T-Birds, mostly on the defensive glass. He pulled down 16 rebounds, adding 12 points and a couple steals.
“Brylle really cleaned up on the glass tonight. He's a big reason we were able to start our transition because he got so many defensive rebounds,” said Hanson. “He's just a tough match up for anybody. Is he a three? Is he a four? It's tough to match up with him because he can score inside and out.”
The T-Birds built a 16-point lead heading into the second half, thanks in large part to their big advantage in the turnover battle. UBC was averaging 17.4 turnovers per game heading into Friday, but they only coughed it up three times in the first half and forced 11 the other way.
Hanson said his team's care with the ball off defensive stops and in transition was a big reason for their effectiveness.
“I thought we did a very good job of getting the ball inside. On the steals we got we were able to penetrate,” said Hanson. “We got layups in transition, and when we didn't we made good decisions to slow it down and pound the ball inside to Wagner.”
But it wasn't all sunshine for the 'Birds, as they did suffer through a scary stretch of the third quarter in which Calgary's Jared Ogungbemi-Jackson almost shot his team back in the game single-handedly.
He put together a personal 8-0 run over a stretch of three possessions, which eventually turned into a 15-2 Calgary run that cut UBC's big lead down to nine points.
“We had a lot of missed defensive assignments, and we're not executing very well on the offensive end,” said Hanson. “We're doing enough to get by I think we've got a long way to go still. “
Ogungbemi-Jackson went on to score 13 of his team-high 19 in the third quarter, but the Dinos couldn't sustain that momentum long enough to fight all the way back. UBC finished the quarter strong, with several defensive stops leading to points, and they led 64-51 heading into the fourth.
Thijin Moses had 14 points and led the Dinos with eight rebounds.
UBC continues to lead the Pacific Division at 7-2 on the year. Calgary falls to 4-5.
The Thunderbirds wrap up conference action for 2012 tomorrow at home against Lethbridge. That game tips off at 7 p.m. They resume play after the holiday break on January 11.
