The University of the Fraser Valley men's basketball team rallied in the late going, but came up empty on a pair of shots in the dying seconds en route to a 77-75 loss to the Winnipeg Wesmen on the road Friday evening.
On the opening night of the Canada West basketball season, the Cascades trailed by nine points with four and a half minutes left, but battled back to cut the deficit to two with possession on a sideline inbounds with 5.5 seconds left in regulation.
Parm Bains kicked it out to
Kenan Hadzovic for a potential game-winning three-pointer, but Winnipeg's DJ Dixon came up with an incredible defensive play, soaring to get a piece of the ball. It went out of bounds for UFV possession with 0.3 left, and Bains's desperation attempt from the right wing came up short.
The two teams renew hostilities on Saturday (3 p.m. PT, CanadaWest.tv) to wrap up the weekend set.
"I thought we showed really good character out there, battling back," Cascades head coach
Adam Friesen said. "That's a heck of a team – Narcisse (Ambanza, Wesmen fourth-year guard) was fantastic. But we didn't give up, and I was proud of the guys for that.
"We'll watch tape and see how we can play a little bit smarter, but when we play with energy, more good things happen. We just had a few lulls where the ball doesn't move quite as much. Defensively we're not quite as active on the weak side, and we paid the price for that."
The Cascades had a solid start, with
Matt Cooley opening the game with a thunderous dunk and Bains following up with seven straight UFV points to give the visitors an early 9-8 lead. But the basket at UFV's offensive end seemed to have a lid on it from that point, as the Cascades struggled to finish inside and found themselves down 21-12 at the end of the frame.
UFV ended the second quarter on a 10-2 run, capped by
Sukhjot Bains's three-pointer, to draw level at 36-36 at the half. But the Wesmen came out of the locker room dialed in, going on a 13-3 run of their own to grab a 49-39 lead.
The Cascades would chip away throughout the fourth, ultimately cutting the deficit to 75-73 on
Sukhraj Bains's and-one layup with 1:11 left. Ambanza answered with a tough leaning jumper, but Hadzovic got to the offensive glass for a putback to get UFV back to within two.
Winnipeg appeared to be in a position to shoot free throws to seal it, with a sideline inbounds with 5.5 seconds remaining. The Cascades dug in on defence to force a five-second violation, getting the ball back with a chance to tie or win, but were unable to finish in the dying seconds.
Sukhjot Bains poured in 23 points and added nine rebounds for the Cascades, and
Parm Bains and Hadzovic had 18 points apiece. UFV shot 43.8 per cent from three-point range while winning the rebounding battle 48-41, but struggled from the free throw line (7-for-15) and with their efficiency inside the arc (38 per cent overall from the field).
Ambanza swished six three-pointers on his way to a game-high 25 points, and Billy Yaworsky (12 points, 3-for-6 from three) also chipped in offensively for the Wesmen.
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- with files from David Larkins, Wesmen Athletics
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