Abbotsford, BC - Dilveer Randhawa and the UFV Cascades used a huge third quarter performance to pick up the 91-87 victory over the U SPORTS No. 3 ranked UBC Thunderbirds on Friday afternoon at the UFV Athletic Centre.

UFV improves to 10-6 with the win, as they try to chase down the 12-3 Thunderbirds for a chance to host in the Canada West playoffs.

How it happened:
A pair of Marcus Flores free throws gave UFV a 12-6 lead in the early going. Dario Lopez would get involved as well for the Cascades with 10 points in the frame, but it would be the Thunderbirds that grabbed the 21-19 lead going into the second after a Nikola Guzina layup.

Both teams continued to battle through the second, with UFV's Matthias Klim hitting three triples and Gus Goerzon responding with two of his own for UBC, but the teams would head into the break all tied up at 46.

UFV's Randhawa turned it on in the third for UFV. The Abbotsford product hit back-to-back threes to cap off an 8-0 run and give the Cascades a lead. After an Edouard Gauthier bucket late in the frame, Randhawa would hit another three to make it a 10-point UFV lead.

UBC would push back again in the third, cutting it to six with four minutes to go off a layup from Guzina, but Randhawa would hit another clutch triple to keep some breathing room. Buckets from Goezen and Holt Tomie would claw back one more push for the Thunderbirds, as they cut the deficit to two points with 60 seconds to go, but a late bucket from Ismael Hernandez and strong free throw shooting from Dario Lopez and Marcus Flores closed it out for the Cascades.

Notable:
Randhawa led all scorers with 24 points on the night to go with five assists, while Lopez added 19 points and five rebounds for UFV. Klim chipped in 15 points on five of five shooting from deep.

Tomie paced UBC with 21 points, while Guzina had 16 and Gauthier had 14 off the bench.

The win from UFV snaps a 10-game win streak for UBC, while the Cascades have now won three straight.

Quotable:
UFV guard Dilveer Randhawa

"I used to imagine shooting big shots in the front yard [and] imagine shooting in this type of game. I've been in kind of a slump the last four games, so to have this type of game today was good for me and my confidence."

"We're playing for seeding and we're trying to host a playoff game. [Winning] every single game for the rest of the season is the biggest thing for us. [It] doesn't matter who does it. Anyone on our team can have a game any given night."

Up Next:
The two teams will meet up once again on Saturday, with tip-off set for 4pm at the UFV Athletic Centre.
To keep up with all the action follow the Cascades on social media at @ufvcascades and visit the UFV Athletics website at gocascades.ca.


-With files from Jeffrey Kennett/ The Cascade-