The University of the Fraser Valley Cascades fell 83-67 to the Thompson Rivers University WolfPack on Friday in Kamloops. The loss drops the Cascades to 3-6 on the season, while the WolfPack improve to 2-5.

Both teams struggled to establish a lead in the first, but with 36 seconds remaining in the frame, UFV's Ismael Hernandez picked up a steal and threw down a two-handed dunk. Hernandez started the second with three more points to give the Cascades a five-point advantage. However, TRU responded quickly with Daniel Bost and Denys Bachurin hitting a number of shots, as the WolfPack closed out the half on a 19-6 run to have a 41-33 lead at the break.

The Cascades battled in the third, and managed to cut the deficit to seven points on a Matthias Klim lay-up early in the fourth, but the WolfPack took control from there. A Bachurin bucket started off a 15-0 run for the hosts. A pair of Evan Smith triples finished off the stretch with under six minutes remaining, and put the game out of reach.

"Ultimately as a team we have to value ball possession," said UFV head coach Joe Enevoldson. "They hit shots, we struggled to defend, and they played harder than us."

The Cascades posted 24 turnovers in the contest compared to just 12 from the WolfPack. That translated to 26 points off turnovers for TRU while UFV only managed 14.

"I thought Matthias [Klim] played pretty well tonight, one of his better performances of the year — offered good rim protection hit shots, and played with some passion which was great to see. Ismael [Hernandez] was also a bright spot tonight. He's going to get better and better."

Klim posted a game-high three blocks to go with 10 points and six rebounds for the Cascades, while Hernandez had 12 points, two blocks and three steals. Dylan Kinley added 14 points in the contest.

Bachurin posted a game-best 23 points for TRU, while Bost added 16 points on 4-5 shooting from beyond the arc. Jason Okoro chipped in 14 points in the victory.
The two teams renew acquaintances on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. in Kamloops. You can stream the action live on Canada West TV.