The University of the Fraser Valley men's basketball team revved up its preseason schedule by splitting a pair of weekend games at a tournament hosted by the Thompson Rivers WolfPack.

The Cascades were shorthanded heading in, with Sukhjot Bains – the team's second-leading scorer last season – and key frontcourt players Daniel Adediran and Dhivaan Bhogal sidelined due to injury. Yet they opened with an 80-76 victory over the UBC Okanagan Heat on Friday evening, before wrapping up the event with a 93-75 defeat at the hands of the host WolfPack on Saturday.

CASCADES 80, HEAT 76

The Cascades had a scorching-hot first half, doubling up on the Heat 46-23 at the break. But the UFV squad – already thin up front – saw big men Matt Cooley and Sukhraj Bains run into foul trouble in the third quarter, opening the door for a UBCO rally. The Heat outscored the Cascades 23-15 in the fourth quarter, but UFV held them off down the stretch.

Point guard Parm Bains, a second team Canada West all-star last season, poured in 27 points to pace the Cascades. Kenan Hadzovic counted a trio of three-pointers among his 15 points, Vick Toor scored 12, and Sukhraj Bains had 10 points and was +17 in 17 minutes off the bench. Cooley contributed a team-high eight rebounds to go with six points.

UBCO's Hafith Moallin went 5-for-7 from downtown on his way to 21 points, and Owen Keyes chipped in with 16 points.

WOLFPACK 93, CASCADES 75

The Cascades' infirmary grew more crowded on Saturday, as Jaskarn Bajwa was unable to suit up due to an ankle injury. With just eight players available, the shorthanded Cascades fell victim to a second-quarter run by TRU that allowed them to claim a 55-40 lead at halftime, and they kept UFV at bay from there.

Parm Bains continued to flash midseason form, going for another 22 points highlighted by four three-pointers. Sukhraj Bains notched 15 points to go with nine rebounds off the bench, Cooley added 10 points, and Vlad Mihaila scored eight.

Tyus De Vries racked up a game-high 25 points for the WolfPack, and veteran forward Joe Davis had 22 points and seven boards.

"Great learning experience playing against a good team like TRU," Cascades head coach Adam Friesen said afterward. "We did some things, and also got a great idea of what we need to improve upon in the next two weeks leading up to league play."

UP NEXT: The Cascades hop on a ferry next weekend to face the UVic Vikes in a Friday-Saturday exhibition set. The Canada West regular season opens the following week, with UFV visiting the Winnipeg Wesmen. Home-opening weekend for the Cascades is Nov. 15-16 vs. UBC Okanagan.