An incredible shooting display powered the University of the Fraser Valley men's basketball team to a 102-81 victory over the Lethbridge Pronghorns on Saturday.
The Cascades (3-3) were coming off a heartbreaking
73-72 defeat on Friday in which a late three-point lead evaporated as Lethbridge's Brett Warren converted a four-point play in the dying seconds.
Their revenge involved raining fire from beyond the arc.
UFV finished 18-for-34 from three-point range, and eight Cascades hit at least one trey. Leading the way was
Parm Bains, who finished 5-for-7 from distance on his way to a game-high 21 points.
Lethbridge (3-5) had an outstanding shooting performance in their own right, but their 10-for-20 effort from downtown paled in comparison to the Cascades' pyrotechnics.
"Parm and Sukhjot (Bains) hit some tough ones, but for everybody else, they were pretty wide open," UFV head coach
Adam Friesen said afterward. "You can't control whether the shots go in or out, but I do think our ball movement created a lot of energy and a lot of quality looks."
"It was the most fun game I've played in a while," Cascades guard
Kenan Hadzovic echoed. "When everybody is penetrating, making the extra kick-out, making the extra pass, guys are going to be wide-open."
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The Cascades got off to an inauspicious start defensively as the Pronghorns exploded for 32 first-quarter points, with Scott Mazutinec pouring in 11 in the frame. UFV stayed close, though, with
Vick Toor coming off the bench to score six points.
The momentum pivoted the Cascades' way midway through the second quarter. Lethbridge went up 42-37 after a Kyle Peterson three, but the hosts responded with an 11-0 run to grab a 48-42 lead heading to the break.
Parm Bains scored five points during that stretch,
Matt Cooley threw down a dunk, and Toor capped the surge with a fast-break finish.
The Cascades continued to pour it on after the break, pushing the lead to 19 points in the third quarter, and they cruised from there, leading by as many as 25 in the fourth.
"We could have forced them off the line a little bit better, but sometimes teams just get hot, right?" Lethbridge coach James McKinnon said. "There's not much you can really do when they're hitting threes in our face. 18-for-34, that's a pretty good clip. You can't do much better than that."
Joining
Parm Bains in double digits for the Cascades were
Sukhjot Bains (13 points), Hadzovic (10) and
Jordyn Sekhon (10).
Vlad Mihaila chipped in with nine points off the bench. The Cascades finished with 25 assists as a team, with
Parm Bains and
Sukhjot Bains leading the way with six and five, respectively.
Four Pronghorns scored in double figures: Scott Mazutinec (16), Colton Gibb (15), Chad Oviatt (14) and Kyle Peterson (12).
The Cascades basketball teams wrap up their first-semester schedule on the road next weekend, as they visit the Manitoba Bisons for a Friday-Saturday set.
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