The University of the Fraser Valley men's basketball team ran its win streak to six games in decisive fashion, defeating the UBC Okanagan Heat 92-62 in Kelowna on Friday evening.
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The Cascades' prolific offensive output was achieved in incredibly balanced fashion. Just three players scored in double figures –
Mark Johnson and
Andrew Morris with 16 points apiece, and
Jordyn Sekhon with 10 off the bench – but all 12 players hit the scoresheet as UFV improved to 7-4 in Canada West play.
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Triston Matthews replied with 15 points for the Heat (5-6), who take another crack at the Cascades on Saturday (7 p.m.,
CanadaWest.tv).
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"The guys moved the basketball, and it was nice to see everyone being a threat out there," UFV head coach
Adam Friesen said. "Everyone was looking to score, but only when the good opportunities arose.
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"If we could shoot the three-pointer a little bit better (the Cascades were 13-of-37 on Friday), that would be the last thing that would be nice to see offensively."
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The UFV squad was dynamite at both ends of the floor in the first quarter, racing out to a 27-11 lead after 10 minutes. Triples by
Sukhjot Bains and Johnson bookended a game-opening 10-2 run, and back-to-back treys from
Sukhman Sandhu expanded the lead to 20-5 midway through the frame.
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The Cascades pushed the lead to 20 points (44-24) at the half, and they cruised from there, on their way to their largest margin of victory this season.
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Defensively, UFV limited the Heat to 38.7 per cent shooting from the field, including 8-of-26 from beyond the arc.
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"The thing that I was most pleased about was, we really wanted to guard the three-point line well on their main players, and I thought we did that fairly well tonight," Friesen said. "We know the three-point shot is a big part of their attack, and slowing that down takes a lot of discipline and hard work, but the boys were up for the challenge today."
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The Cascades got terrific play from their point guard duo of
Vick Toor and
Parm Bains; they combined for 18 points (nine apiece), nine assists, eight rebounds, and – most crucially – zero turnovers. Sandhu also scored nine for UFV, and
Sukhjot Bains hauled down a team-high eight rebounds as the Cascades out-boarded UBCO 45-36.
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Aldrich Berrios (11 points) and Jacob Stokker (10) joined Matthews in double figures for the Heat.Â
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