The UBC Thunderbirds the stage for a winner-take-all Game 3 on Saturday evening, knocking off the University of the Fraser Valley men's basketball team in Game 2 of their Canada West quarter-final series.

The Cascades had drawn first blood in Thursday's opener, defeating the host T-Birds 92-79 at War Memorial Gym, but UBC played with a sense of desperation in Friday's rematch and earned an 85-58 victory to extend their season.

Game 3 tips off at 7 p.m. Saturday at War Memorial (CanadaWest.tv).

Mark Johnson had a second straight standout effort for the Cascades, scoring a team-high 19 points to go with six rebounds. Andrew Morris contributed 11 points, and Sukhjot Bains posted nine points and eight boards. The T-Birds did a much better job limiting UFV leading scorer Parm Bains – he'd exploded for 26 points on Thursday, but was held to two points on Friday.

Grant Shephard paced the T-Birds for the second straight night, notching 21 points and 10 rebounds, and UBC leading scorer Jadon Cohee bounced back from a six-point effort in Game 1 with 20 points in Game 2. Manroop Clair (16 points) and Mason Bourcier (12) also scored in double figures.

"They came out with a little more energy and made some good adjustments, and we didn't capitalize as much as we'd like to," Cascades head coach Adam Friesen analyzed post-game.
"We have to find ways to make them chase us more. That's what allowed us to have success in our first game. We got a little stagnant tonight, and they got to stay in their preferred match-ups for entire possessions too often. We'll look to improve on that."

Similar to the previous night, it was a roller coaster first half. The T-Birds jumped out to a quick 8-2 lead behind four points from Cohee, but UFV would respond in similar fashion to Game 1 – with lethal long-range shooting at a 40 percent clip. Midway through the frame, Sukhjot Bains, Johnson and Morris hit consecutive treys to draw the Cascades to within four points at 18-14. But Cohee would close out the quarter the way he started it, with consecutive baskets to give the hosts a 23-18 lead.

The second quarter saw each team score 18 points in what could have doubled as a three-point shooting clinic with the teams combining for seven treys. The T-Birds led by as many as 10 points, but UFV had a late surged capped by Morris driving the lane and kissing one off the glass to cut the deficit to 41-36 at the half.

The T-Birds would open a twelve-point advantage in the third quarter, answering each Cascades run with one of their own to lead 60-48 heading to the fourth, and they pulled away in the final frame.

Critical for UBC was winning the rebounding battle (43-39) and taking better care of the ball than did the Cascades (19 turnovers for UFV, eight for the T-Birds).

"It's going to take, first of all, believing, and going for it with everything we have, leaving with no regrets," Friesen said, reflecting on the mentality his team will need to take into Game 3.

- with files from Stu Walters, UBC Athletics