Dylan Kinley dominated early and
Dario Lopez took over late to lift the University of the Fraser Valley men's basketball team to an 80-76 victory over the Thompson Rivers WolfPack on the road Thursday evening.
Kinley scored 17 of his career-high 22 points in the first half as UFV built a double-digit lead, but the host WolfPack battled back to grab a 72-71 edge with less than three minutes left in regulation. Lopez took over from there – with TRU's star centre Brad King sidelined due to injury, the standout rookie forward from Spain took advantage of size mismatches in the post, reeling off eight straight UFV points to help secure the victory.
The Cascades (8-4) extended their win streak to four, while leaving the WolfPack (4-9) still searching for their first victory since the calendar flipped to 2022.Â
"Credit to TRU – they were undermanned, and they played with a lot of heart and character," UFV head coach
Joe Enevoldson said afterward. "We were fortunate to grind one out on the road. They made it more interesting than we would have liked, but again, that's credit to them.
"Our freshman came through in the clutch – obviously Dario had a great fourth quarter. Guys did a great job of finding him down the stretch. We executed when we needed to execute – we didn't execute for 40 minutes, but it comes down to all the (late-game) scenarios that we look at in practice. And we pulled out the W."
The Cascades got off to a blazing start, going up 16-4 in a hurry with Kinley scoring seven points during that stretch. UFV would go on to extend the lead to 27-11 at the end of the first quarter.
The WolfPack found their footing in the second, opening the frame on an 13-0 run headlined by a pair of Brendan Sullivan triples. The Cascades righted themselves, though, with Kinley leading the way – by halftime he'd already eclipsed his previous UFV career high for points as the visitors led 42-33.
Kinley continued to sizzle in the third, opening the quarter with a trey, and UFV went up by as many as 14 points. TRU once again mounted a huge surge – they reeled off 12 points in a row to cut the deficit to 51-49, but the Cascades calmed down and took a 67-57 lead into the fourth after
Zubair Seyed ended the frame with an and-one layup.
UFV caught a big break when Sullivan, the WolfPack's leading scorer, fouled out with 8:35 remaining in regulation. TRU, though, managed a 12-2 run behind five points from Asher Mayan to knot the score 69-69, and then watched Kinley pick up his fifth and disqualifying foul with 2:44 left. Richard Mageto split a pair of free throws, and the WolfPack had their first lead since the first quarter, up 72-71.
Lopez took the Cascades home, though. He scored eight straight UFV points, dominating smaller TRU defenders in the paint to help his squad stave off the WolfPack's comeback effort.
Kinley's scoring output was boosted by a 4-for-7 performance from three-point range, and he added seven rebounds and three assists. Seyed finished with 17 points, Lopez registered 14 points and nine boards, and
Kyle Claggett had nine points and nine rebounds for the winners.
Mayan's 21 points were tops for the WolfPack, Sullivan scored 16, and Daniel Bost scored 14.
"Dylan really got us going early, and a lot of it had to do with the fact he went 3-for-4 from three (in the first half)," Enevoldson noted. "He didn't shoot the ball that well the first half of the year, but he's found his rhythm and his timing. He's a great shooter when he's able to get his rhythm into it.
"And Dario, he's wise beyond his years. He had a few freshman moments throughout the game, but when we needed him in the fourth quarter he came through."
After a day off, the Cascades return to action with a Saturday-Sunday series in Kelowna vs. the UBC Okanagan Heat. Games tip off at 12 p.m. both days, and will be webcast atÂ
CanadaWest.tv presented by Co-op.
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