Prince George, BC –
Dylan Kinley notched a triple-double, as the UFV Cascades defeated the UNBC Timberwolves 90—88 on Saturday in Prince George.
After falling in a tightly contested contest the night prior, UFV jumped out to a 28-18 lead nine minutes into the first quarter. The Cascades extended that advantage to as many as 13 in the second, but a 23-3 run from UNBC in the middle portion of the frame gave them a seven-point lead that they carried into the half.
The Cascades chipped away at the UNBC advantage in the third, before a
Jake Willemsen three squared it up with 2:29 left in the quarter.
UFV took a one-point lead into the fourth, but a pair of buckets from UNBC's Spencer Ledoux followed by a pair of threes from Chris Ross gave the hosts an eight-point cushion with six minutes remaining. Timely scoring from
Clay Kurtz and Kinley brought the Cascades back within a single bucket with 1:34 on the clock, and a
Dario Lopez triple knotted it up at 88 with just over minute left. After the Cascades forced a turnover,
Dylan Kinley drove the lane and fed Lopez who got the lay-in to fall with 11 seconds on the clock. A half court attempt from UNBC fell short in the dying moments, and the Cascades closed out the two-point victory.
"It was a team effort. We all came together," noted Kinley after the game. "We got three or four stops in a row, and my boys came through in the clutch."
"That second quarter was a little blip, but once we get out of it and do what our coach taught us – play defence, rebound hard and pride ourselves on owning the glass – when we do that we really feel like we can win every basketball game."
Kinley's 15 points, 11 assists, and 11 rebounds puts him into exclusive company, as he joins Matt Cooley as the only Cascades to reach the milestone in Canada West play. Coincidently, Cooley's feat also occurred against UNBC on January 11, 2020, when he posted 14 points, 13 rebounds, and 10 assists.
"Dylan played incredible," Cascades head coach
Joe Enevoldson praised postgame. "15 points, 11 rebounds, 11 assists, and one turnover in 37 minutes of play - that's a high-level night."
"We had a great video session this afternoon and it translated directly into tonight's performance. When we were down, we were never out. It was the proverbial bend but not break."
Lopez finished the game with 18 points and seven rebounds, while
Uyi Ologhola ended with 12 points and seven boards. Rookies
Marcus Flores and
Ismael Hernandez each came away with 10 points on the night.
Spencer Ledoux led the way for the Timberwolves with 19 points and six assists, while Chris Ross had 16 points and five rebounds. Justin Sunga posted a double-double with 13 points and 11 boards in the effort.
The Cascades are back in action next Friday and Saturday for their first home games of the year against the University of Victoria. Game times are set for 8 p.m. and 7p.m. respectively, and tickets can be purchased online at gocascades.ca/tickets.
