A flame-throwing performance from beyond the arc coupled with a tidy defensive showing allowed the University of the Fraser Valley men's basketball team to draw first blood in its quarter-final playoff series vs. the UBC Thunderbirds.Â
The Cascades hit 17 three-pointers to cruise past their previous season-high of 14, and limited the No. 6-ranked team in the nation to 34.2 per cent shooting from the field – including 28.6 per cent in the first half – on their way to a 92-79 victory at War Memorial Gym on Thursday.
Parm Bains led the charge offensively with 26 points and seven assists,
Sukhman Sandhu poured in 21 points off the bench,
Sukhjot Bains racked up 20 points and nine boards, and
Mark Johnson had a huge night with 17 points, 18 rebounds and eight assists as UFV claimed a 1-0 lead in the best-of-three series.Â
Grant Shephard paced the T-Birds with a game-high 29 points to go with 12 rebounds, and Manroop Clair and Grant Audu scored 17 apiece.Â
Game 2 in the best-of-three series is Friday at War Memorial, with Game 3 (if necessary) on Saturday. Tip-off times for both games is 7 p.m., with webcasts atÂ
CanadaWest.tv.
"We came in with the belief that winning was possible," Cascades head coach
Adam Friesen said post-game. "That's where it started.Â
"In the first quarter, we did what we tried to do every single game this season, and that's play defence and rebound. We don't expect to score in the nineties, and we don't have the expectation of scoring in the nineties tomorrow. If it happens, it happens. But we know we've got to play defence, board, and take care of the basketball. We'll look to improve in those areas, and take care of the offensive end as it goes."
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The T-Birds got off to a solid start, opening an early 7-2 lead, with all seven points coming off the fingertips of Shephard. But the Cascades responded with a 9-0 run, highlighted by five points from
Sukhjot Bains, and the visitors held a 19-13 advantage at the end of the first quarter.Â
UFV stretched the lead to double digits (33-22) after a
Parm Bains triple midway through the second quarter, but UBC drew back to within 38-32 at the half.
The Cascades had a dynamite third quarter, boosting the margin to 16 (65-49) after a Sandhu three in the final minute of the frame.Â
The hosts mustered a fourth-quarter surge – they opened on a 14-5 run, cutting the deficit to 70-67 after a Shephard layup with just over five minutes left in regulation.
But a trio of triples in quick succession – two from Sandhu, sandwiching one from Johnson – swung the momentum firmly back to the Cascades, and they were never seriously threatened in the dying minutes.
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The Cascades' best long-distance shooting night of the season saw them hit 17-of-38 (44.7 per cent) from downtown, and Sandhu hit three of his four triples in the fourth quarter to seal the victory. UFV also earned a narrow 50-47 edge on the boards – a significant stat, considering the T-Birds out-rebounded their opponents by an average of 10 per game during the regular season.
"Parm was the catalyst," Friesen said. "His aggression and his belief in himself got other people open, and Sukhman capitalized on his opportunities in the fourth quarter, no doubt."
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