Friday, Nov. 15: Cascades (0-2, 14th in Canada West) vs. UBC Okanagan Heat (1-3, T-11th in Canada West), 8 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 16: Cascades vs. Heat, 7 p.m.
Envision Financial Athletic Centre / South Gym
Webcast: CanadaWest.tv presented by Co-op

It's been nearly three months since the UFV men's basketball team last played a game at the Envision Financial Athletic Centre – back on Aug. 19, they hosted the NCAA D1 Cal State Bakersfield Roadrunners in exhibition action, dropping a 96-59 decision. The balance of their preseason slate came on the road, with in-province trips to Kamloops and Victoria.

After opening the Canada West regular season with a pair of closely contested road losses to the Winnipeg Wesmen, and a subsequent bye week, the Cascades finally get another chance to enjoy the friendly confines of the EFAC.

"We haven't played in that gym since August, and we're excited to be back in there," enthused Parm Bains, the Cascades' fifth-year point guard. "We're going to try to get into the win column."

This weekend's opponent, UBC Okanagan, is a familiar one for the Cascades. They played the Heat at a preseason tourney in Kamloops, earning an 80-76 win.

"They play with a lot of pace and energy, and they can get hot," said Bains, no pun intended. "When we played them a couple weeks ago, we won the first half by 23 and they won the second half by 19. It was a tale of two halves. We have to be consistent, because they can get rolling. They have some firepower."

Players to watch: Cascades senior Sukhjot Bains is off to an outstanding start to the season – the Surrey, B.C. product is ninth in Canada West in scoring through two weeks of play, averaging 19.0 points per game. Bains has been particularly dialed in from beyond the arc, hitting 43.5 per cent of his attempts from downtown. The athletic 6'6" wing also functions as the Cascades' defensive stopper, often guarding the opposing team's top perimeter threat. The Heat's Hafith Moallin comes in as the Canada West men's third star of the week across all sports – the sophomore guard racked up a triple double (just the 16th in CW men's basketball history) last Friday with 16 points, 11 assists and 11 rebounds in a 93-91 win over Thompson Rivers. He's third in CW in assists, averaging 5.5 per game to go with 10.5 points.