VANCOUVER - The UBC Thunderbirds survived turnover troubles and shooting struggles to down the Saskatchewan Huskies 69-60 on Saturday night at War Memorial Gym.
The Huskies were ice cold from the floor all game, but 10 UBC turnovers in the third quarter kept them in the game, down 10 points heading into the fourth.
Team scoring leader Jamelle Barrett struggled mightily with his shot, taking a 1-for-14 mark into the final quarter, but he hit a three to start the final frame off and bring his side to within seven. The Huskies continued to pour it on with an 11-1 run, eventually cutting the lead down to 53-52 after a Michael Lieffers dunk with less than three minutes remaining.
UBC's top scorer,
Nathan Yu, also struggled with his shot in the first half, but came back with a long two to restore a three point lead, and with the 'Birds up 58-54 late, rookie guard
Malcolm Williams iced it with a three-pointer from the corner with 30 seconds remaining.
"I thought our guys did a good job defensively, but both teams were really tired playing close games against ranked teams the night before," said UBC head coach
Kevin Hanson. "Down the stretch we did what we had to do, but you just shouldn't win games with 29 turnovers and allowing 22 offensive rebounds, and we're trying to address both of those things."
Yu, who was 5-for-13 after three quarters, finished 8-for-17 with a game-high 22 points thanks to a solid fourth quarter.
Tommy Nixon was the only other T-Bird to score in double figures, dropping 13 points to go with his five rebounds and three blocks.
"It was a game of just mental toughness," Yu said. "Both teams were so tired, and we're not the deepest teams so a lot of guys were playing major minutes, and it was just a game of defence and grinding it out, and we were the tougher team."
Barrett still led his team with 17 points, 15 of which came in the second half, but shot just 4-for-20 on the night.
"We put a bit of height on him, and you can't guard him with one guy so we double teamed him and triple teamed him at times not letting him get to the rim," said Hanson. "He's a real focal point on their team, especially since they lost Nolan Brudehl, and I thought we did a really good job of containing him."
Poor free throw shooting was devastating to the Huskies down the stretch. They trailed by just a few points for most of the fourth, but hit just two of eight free throws in the quarter.
For the game, the Huskies shot 27 per cent from the field and 57 per cent from the line. UBC shot 38 per cent and 88 per cent respectively in those categories.
The T-Birds started strong defensively, holding the Huskies scoreless for several minutes while building an 11-2 lead out of the gate. They blocked three shots during the scoring run, two courtesy of Nixon.
But then the Huskies' defence stepped up, and the 'Birds were held off the scoreboard for the last six minutes of the frame. They led just 11-9 heading into the second quarter.
Barrett was held in check early on, missing his first 11 shots from the field and scoring just two points in the first half. As a team, the Huskies shot just 16 per cent from the field in the opening 20 minutes and had seven shots blocked.
UBC had 11 blocks in the game. Fifth year centre
Balraj Bains had five to his credit.
The Huskies gave UBC fits on the offensive glass, pulling down 22 offensive rebounds in the game, but they managed just six second chance points thanks to tough T-Bird defence in the low post.
Lieffers led the effort with 15 rebounds, also adding 11 points for a double double.
Kamar Burke was UBC's top rebound man as usual with 12 boards.
The Huskies fall to 6-3 but still lead the East Division, and will look to build on that lead next weekend in Calgary.
The Thunderbirds are 6-2 and in second place behind Victoria in the West. They will get a chance to pick up some ground next weekend when they take on Thompson Rivers.
-30-
