Abbotsford, BC – The UFV Cascades saw a fourth quarter lead dwindle, but for the second consecutive night managed to hold off the UBC Okanagan Heat as they picked up the 90-81 victory. With the win the Cascades get back to .500 at 3-3, while the Heat drop to 2-4.

As it happened: 
The Heat raced out to a five-point lead early, but the Cascades shooters caught fire with Jake Willemsen and Dylan Kinley hitting triples before Arpan Singh nailed two of his own to give the hosts an 18-15 lead going into the second.

The Heat would tie it up at 33, but with three minutes left in the half UFV turned it on again. Two more triples by Kinley were followed up by a Dario Lopez trey to put the Cascades up six. Lopez beat the buzzer with a dunk to end the half and put his team up eight.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by UFV Cascades Athletics (@ufvcascades)

Triples by Kinley and Takeshi Croke made it a 16-point game in the third, but a Jalen Shirley jumper, and a Gavin Ashworth three cut the Heat's deficit to 11 heading into the fourth.

With six minutes left, Uyi Ologhola had a layup fall to stretch the advantage back to fifteen, but UBCO buckets from Hafith Moallin and Ashworth suddenly made it a two-point game with three minutes left. That was as close as the visitors would get however, as the Cascades came back strong after a timeout and Lopez would hit seven free throws down the stretch to seal the game.

Top performers: 
UFV's Lopez led all scorers with 28 points and added eight rebounds in the contest. Kinley picked up a double-double with 21 points and 10 boards, while Ologhola and Singh each had 13 points.

Ashworth had 24 points for the Heat, While Moallin posted 11 points and 11 boards. Jas Dhudwal had a big night on the glass picking up 17 rebounds for UBCO.

Quotable:
Cascades forward Dario Lopez

"Yesterday I had a tough game, but all I can do is keep playing with confidence, keep trusting my skills, and keep trusting my team because we are going to do well together."

"I feel like the key for us is the defence. When we can get stops, control the rebounds, and run, we really get into our game, and no one can stop us there."

Up next:
The Cascades head on the road next Friday and Saturday to face off with the 4-0 Regina Cougars. Both games can be streamed live on Canada West TV.