The University of the Fraser Valley men's basketball team showcased their depth in an impressive 87-72 win over the UNBC Timberwolves in Prince George on Friday evening.
The Cascades didn't have anyone score more than 14 points, yet shot a scorching 54.3 per cent from the field as a team, with six players scoring in double digits.
Vick Toor and
Parm Bains tied for team-high honours with 14 points;
Matt Cooley,
Sukhjot Bains and
Sukhraj Bains scored 12 apiece; and
Jaskarn Bajwa tallied 11 points as UFV improved to 5-6 in Canada West conference play.
Vova Pluzhnikov had a monster night for the hosts, racking up 27 points, nine rebounds and five assists, but it was not enough as the T-Wolves fell to 4-7.
The two teams conclude the weekend series on Saturday (7 p.m., CanadaWest.tv).
"We shared the basketball," Cascades head coach
Adam Friesen succinctly analyzed. "Everyone was confident and being a threat out there. They played some zone, and we moved the ball and found the open areas and got contributions from a lot of people.
"For us to play our best basketball, we've got to have five threats on the floor at all times. The fact that confidence has been built in all our guys goes to show how much work people are putting in outside of practice time. And as teammates, they're putting trust in each other, which is great to see and allows games like this to occur."
The Cascades, despite missing key rotation pieces
Kenan Hadzovic and
Daniel Adediran due to injury/illness, were dialed in offensively on this night. After battling UNBC to a 19-19 stalemate through one quarter, they opened the second on an 11-2 run capped by a
Vlad Mihaila corner triple. The T-Wolves fought back to level the score 42-42, before late buckets by Cooley and
Sukhjot Bains gave UFV a 46-42 lead at the half.
The visitors surged to start the third quarter, reeling off 13 straight points highlighted by
Jordyn Sekhon's steal and subsequent breakaway dunk. UNBC got back to within 10 points early in the fourth, but the Cascades responded with a 10-0 run capped by a Cooley dunk over T-Wolves forward Fareed Shittu to make it 82-62 and essentially seal the result.
Sekhon chipped in with nine points for the Cascades,
Sukhjot Bains hauled in a team-high nine rebounds, and Toor dished out nine assists.
Tyrell Laing notched 18 points for UNBC, and Saymon Loki scored 10.
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