In a game of wild momentum swings, the University of the Fraser Valley men's basketball team survived in overtime to edge the UNBC Timberwolves 95-93 on Saturday evening in Abbotsford.
The Cascades dominated the early portion of the game, racing out to a 43-17 lead midway through the second quarter. The Timberwolves battled all the way back, though, seizing a five-point lead in the final minute of regulation.
UFV dug deep and managed to force overtime in thrilling fashion as
Dylan Kinley hit a three-pointer with one second left on the clock. And when the dust had settled in OT, the Cascades had a 95-93 victory.
The Cascades, coming off an
85-63 win over UBC Okanagan in Friday's regular-season opener, improved to 2-0 while dropping the T-Wolves to 1-1.
"You saw our potential, but I also think you saw our inexperience," Cascades head coach
Joe Enevoldson said afterward. "I think you saw a team that, if we put it together for 40 minutes, could be very, very good. But I think you also saw our basement. We didn't really talk (as UNBC mounted its comeback in the third and fourth quarters), we didn't really run offence. We really stopped going away from what was working for us early.
"Credit to UNBC – they've got a bunch of fifth-year guys who know where they get their shots from. They really exploited us for essentially the last 25 minutes of the game. We were fortunate and lucky to pull one out."
The Cascades were rolling throughout the first quarter and the first five minutes of the second – the offence was humming and the defence was solid, leading to fast-break opportunities. Fourth-year point guard
Vick Toor, in one sequence, blocked an attempted jumper from UNBC's Tyrell Laing, then grabbed the ball and sprinted the other direction to hit a floater in the paint, plus the foul. After his free throw, UFV was up 43-17.
The balance of the frame belonged to the T-Wolves, though, and they began methodically digging their way back into it. The visitors tore off a 17-4 run to end the half, closing the gap to 47-34, and in the third quarter, they battled back to within four points.
In the fourth, UNBC surged ahead – big man Rohtash Mattu was giving the Cascades fits, draining a series of three-pointers, and a Laing layup gave UNBC the lead three minutes into the frame.
The T-Wolves were able to gain some separation down the stretch as Laing hit a big three-pointer and Vova Pluzhnikov hit a leaner in the key. UNBC was up 84-79 with less than 30 seconds remaining.
The Cascades got a quick
Kyle Claggett layup off a baseline inbounds play to cut it to 84-81. Then, after forcing a Laing turnover with 11 seconds left, Kinley took a handoff from Claggett and drained a triple from the top of the arc, sending the game to OT and the home fans into hysterics.
UFV appeared in control after a
Zubair Seyed runner and a Claggett tip-in to go up 92-89 with 1:20 left, but UNBC answered with buckets from Laing and Chris Ross to reclaim the lead at 93-92.
Kinley scored what turned out to be the winning points after driving to the hoop from the right wing – UNBC's Fareed Shittu blocked his layup attempt, but not before it had touched the glass first, and he was whistled for goaltending.
The T-Wolves had last possession, and after Pluzhnikov's corner three came up well short, Shittu grabbed the offensive board but was tied up for a jump ball with 0.4 seconds left. After some post-whistle physicality resulted in technical fouls, Seyed provided the final margin by hitting one of two free throws.
Claggett paced the Cascades with 18 points and added nine rebounds and five assists. Kinley had 16 points and nine boards, Toor notched 15 points, nine rebounds and seven assists, and
Jordyn Sekhon (11) and
Aidan Wilson (10) also scored in double figures.
The T-Wolves had six double-digit scorers: Laing (18), Mattu (15), Ross (15), Pluzhnikov (13), Spencer Ledoux (12) and Payton Tirrell (11). Pluzhnikov approached triple-double territory with 10 rebounds and seven assists, and Ross also had 10 boards.
Kinley's clutch buzzer-beater was reminiscent of his teammate
Jordyn Sekhon's triple to send a playoff game vs. the Winnipeg Wesmen to OT on Feb. 14, 2020 – the last time there'd been meaningful Canada West basketball at the UFV Athletic Centre prior to this weekend.
"You've got to be good to be lucky and lucky to be good, and Dylan is both of those sometimes," Enevoldson said with a chuckle. "Dylan can shoot the ball a little bit. He got some space, and he's a very confident young man. I think that showed in the key, pivotal moment.
"Obviously when you hit a last-second shot to send it to overtime, you hope that emotion can carry over, and I think it did early. But then UNBC showed their fifth-year resolve again. They really showed why Tyrell Laing is the league's leading scorer, and why Vova is a great primary or secondary option. And credit to Rohtash (Mattu) – he hit big shot after big shot on pick-and-pops. We have to be better on those."
The Cascades basketball teams are off to Vancouver next week for a Friday-Saturday set with the UBC Thunderbirds.
