Abbotsford, BC – Trinity Western's David Mutabazi dropped a shot from in-tight at the buzzer to send the Trinity Western University Spartans to a thrilling 77-76 win over the UFV Cascades on Saturday at the UFV Athletic Centre. 

The loss sees the Cascades fall to 8-12, and still in control of the final Canada West playoff spot, while the Spartans season comes to an end at 5-12.

The Cascades honoured graduating senior Dylan Kinley before the game, as the fifth year guard played his final regular season game for the Cascades on Saturday.

How it Happened
The cascades built an eight-point lead in the first quarter, but a 10-0 run for TWU tied up the score early in the second. Both teams traded shots, but it was the Spartans with a two-point lead at the break. 

A pair of Jake Willemsen triples at the end of the third gave UFV a six-point advantage, but the Spartans found another run early in the fourth and a Mutabazi jumper tied it up at 61. Three pointers from Willemsen and Kinley put the Cascades up by four with 16 seconds left, but Mutabazi answered back with a fade away triple to cut the lead to one with eight seconds on the clock. After a pair of missed free throws from the Cascades, Mutabazi received a pass and hit a game-winning jumper as time expired.

Top Performers:
Kinley led the Cascades with 27 points and six rebounds, while Jake Willemsen went four for six from three and finished with 15 points. 

David Mutabazi and Vald Mihaila each had 16 points for TWU, while Connor platz finished with 15 points and nine boards. 

Quotable:
Cascades head coach Joe Enevoldson

"Ultimately, we have to regroup. I think that's a bit of a heartbreaker for sure. We put ourselves in a position to be successful and we didn't make the most of the opportunity, but sometimes that's basketball."

"Dylan [Kinley] and I have been together for five years, and we have had some great moments together, we've won a lot of games together, lost some games together, and he's a special player. He's going to have a bright career ahead of him. Ultimately he left his mark in our program as statistically one of the best Cascades ever across the board. We have a chance now to go on a little bit of a run and hopefully end his career with us in a positive way." 

Up next:
The Cascades now await the results of the rescheduled games between TRU and Victoria to learn the draw for the Canada West Men's Basketball Playoffs hosted by the University of Manitoba starting February 21.