Langley, BC – Ismael Hernandez scored a game-high 18 points on Friday, but a tough second quarter stretch saw the UFV Cascades fall 78-63 to the Trinity Western Spartans in Langley.

The win improves the Spartans to 4-5 in conference play, while the loss drops the Cascades to 3-6.

How it happened:
UFV started strong, scoring the first eight points of the game, but TWU responded with a 12-4 run to end the 1^st quarter. UFV struggled at the start of the second, as a 10 point deficit grew, and the teams went into the break with that margin, 40-30.

The Spartans and Cascades exchanged baskets to start the second half before TWU extended their lead to 15 points, 64-49, heading into the final 10 minutes of the contest. The Cascades cut the lead to nine points, 70-69, with three minutes remaining, but were unable to get any closer as the Spartans finished the game with a 15-point win.

Notable:
Ismael Hernandez had a double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds, while Clay Kurtz scored 17 points and four rebounds, while Dario Lopez had 13 points and five boards. Takeshi Croke had a strong game on the glass, collecting 13 rebounds on the night.

Josh Belvin had a team-high 18 points for TWU, while Jack Vandenberg chipped in 12 points. 

Quotable:
Cascades head coach Joe Enevoldson

"In the team room after the game – let's wash this one. We'll learn from it Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, but right now we have to be a goldfish. Now it's UBCO and we have to be prepared and guys have to get rest, get their nutrition in tonight and be up on the bus tomorrow."

"Izzy [Hernandez] played really well tonight to lead us in scoring. We are starting to see who he can be as a player. He hit a pair of threes and kind of kept us in the game in the third quarter. Today just came down to that one quarter, and we have to clean up those quarters. We were pretty good for three quarters again, but we have to figure that one out." 

Up next:
The Cascades have a quick turnaround now, as they travel to Kelowna to play the UBC Okanagan Heat at 6pm on Saturday.  

You can keep up with all the action at gocascades.ca, or by following the UFV Cascades on social media at @ufvcascades. Watch all Cascades regular season games live on Canada West TV.