Kamloops, BC – The UFV Cascades trailed by as many as 15 points early on, but after getting their first lead of the game in the middle of the fourth quarter they held on to defeat the TRU WolfPack 84-79 on Thursday in Kamloops. 

The Cascades third win of the season over TRU pushes their record to 8-6, as they sit fourth in the Canada West Pacific Division. Meanwhile, TRU drops to 10-5 to sit third.

How it happened
TRU opened up the game on fire, and a Jayden Stephens triple gave the hosts a 20-5 lead early in the first. The Cascades would gain their footing, as eight of Bennett O'Connor's 10 first half points helped to close the gap to five. The teams would trade buckets from there, and TRU would lead by eight at the half.

A Matthias Klim layup would cut the UFV deficit to just three in the third, but TRU responded with back-to-back corner threes from Dami Fairinloye. The Cascades closed out the frame with an Ismael Hernandez triple and a Dario Lopez bucket before opening the fourth with early baskets from Sansalone and O'Connor to swing the momentum on a 9-0 run. 

A Flores jumper would tie the game up at 70 and Amari Jone would chip in moments later to give the Cascades their first lead of the game with 5:29 remaining. Lopez would turn it on late for UFV, getting a pair of massive buckets and adding a block to put his team up by five with two minutes to go. 

TRU battled back once again, as Fran Monreal hit a pair of free throws, and Stephens hit a triple to tie it back up at 78. Flores hit a clutch jumper with 27 seconds on the clock for UFV to regain the lead before Sansalone followed up with a pair of free throws to make it a three-point game. After a WolfPack miss Lopez would hit two more from the charity stripe to seal it, 84-79.

Notable:
Dario Lopez led the Cascades with 21 points and six rebounds, while Marcus Flores had 15 points. Hayden Sansalone made a huge impact off the bench for the Cascades, scoring seven points while chipping in 10 rebounds and three blocks. 

Jayden Stephens had 21 points for TRU in the game, while Farinloye notched 15 of his own.

Quotable:
UFV head coach Joe Enevoldson

"Great, gutsy, performance in the second half. I thought defensively we were a train wreck in the first half, and we relied on our offence to give us energy. That can't happen, our energy has to come from defence and our controllables. You can't always control when you are good on offence, but you can control your effort, your enthusiasm, your intensity, and your attention to detail. That second half we were different."

"[Sansalone] brought energy today when we didn't have it. He had a couple blocks in the first half, guarded their best guy. He has a little bit of swagger to himself, and he doesn't shy away from those moments. To crown it off by knocking those two free throws is just a testament to him."

Up Next:
The Cascades continue their road swing  as they head to Prince George to face the UNBC Timberwolves on Saturday.

To keep up with all the action follow the Cascades on social media at @ufvcascades and visit the UFV Athletics website at gocascades.ca.