Stu Walters, UBC Thunderbirds
VANCOUVER – The UBC Thunderbirds relied on their depth and some sweet outside shooting to get past the Manitoba Bisons 97-72 to clinch the best-of-three Canada West quarter-final series two games to none at War Memorial Gym on Friday night. The 'Birds now move onto the conference semifinal after exercising some demons against the Bisons who managed the upset in the same quarter-final just one season ago at UBC.
The T-Birds got off to a hot start courtesy of third-year guard Taylor Browne setting an early tone from outside in hitting two of his first three, three-point attempts, helping the hosts to a 12-0 lead and forcing a Manitoba timeout to regroup. Browne would continue his onslaught in draining two more shots from beyond the arc, shooting 4-for-7 from three-point land and 5-of-8 overall from the field, good for a team high 14 points in the frame. It was a sign of things to come for the Surrey, B.C. native who finished a sizzling 7-for-12 from long distance to set a UBC playoff record for three-pointers in a game. Responding for the Bisons after a disappointing eight-point effort in Thursday's opening game was Justus Alleyn who was also a threat from outside hitting all three of his three-point attempts en route to a team high 11 first quarter points. The Bison's battled back but it was the T-Birds closing out the first quarter with a 26-18 lead on the strength of an impressive 46.2 percent three-point shooting efficiency and fifty percent overall from the field.
Manitoba had a good initial response in the second quarter to reel the 'Birds back in thanks to increased defensive pressure and shooting efficiency. The Bisons would pull within two points trailing 31-29 which caused T-Birds head coach Kevin Hanson to call a time out. The visitors would tie it at 31-31 before what might have been one of the big momentum shifting plays of the game. It saw Alleyn drive the lane for what looked to be a routine layup which would give the Bisons their first lead of the game but fifth-year forward Conor Morgan went sky high with an emphatic block leading to a 'Birds fast break the other way and an eight-nothing run they wouldn't look back from. With 20 seconds remaining in the quarter Morgan would strike again, hitting a three-pointer of his own to extend UBC's lead to 42-34 at the half. Morgan scored seven of his 16 points in the quarter while adding eight of his game high 16 rebounds. Both teams were even on point scoring 16 each.
The third quarter would open to a frantic pace and entertaining action that would see UBC hit back to back three-pointers courtesy of Morgan and first-year guard Mason Bourcier to take a 48-36 lead. Fifth-year guard Phil Jalalpoor would add six of his 10 points on the night while Anthony Mcnish also added six of his 12 points on the evening. For the Bisons it was forward James Wagner counting nine of his 12 points and Alleyn pouring in nine more of his game high 24 points to close out his U Sports career. Not helping Manitoba's cause was first-year forward and effective inside presence Cameron O'Hara picking up his fifth and final foul. Much like the end of the second quarter the 'Birds finished the third quarter with a statement play as Morgan and first-year forward Grant Shephard completed a fast break with Shephard rising for the left-handed dunk and a 76-63 lead.
The fourth quarter would see the T-Birds add to their 13-point lead in outscoring the Bisons 21-9. Once again Taylor Browne would take over with another shooting display finishing just as strong as he started by hitting three more three-pointers, adding nine points to his team high 23 on the night. For a second night in a row the bench scoring would prove beneficial with first-year guard Grant Audu adding seven of his 13 points in the contest, UBC benefiting from 35 points of the bench compared to 12 points from the Bisons reserves. In the victory UBC enjoyed shooting 53.4 percent from the field while both teams had success from long range with identical 42.9 percent three-point shooting percentages.
Thunderbirds guard Taylor Browne enjoyed a standout night but first and foremost wanted to credit his teammates well rounded effort.
"It was from the start, even from yesterday you could see that we wanted to play hard, play smart, play tough and win for each other," said Browne. "These past two games show how unselfish of a team we are and how we all put in our efforts to win the game."
Browne who set a UBC men's basketball playoff record with seven, three-pointers in the game added that he had a good feeling coming into the game.
"Yesterday I was 1-for-1 from outside and I told myself tomorrow I'm going to shoot my shot and I'm going to connect on a lot of three's, I had that mindset going into it and from there it just came to me naturally, I just let it come to me."
T-Birds head coach Kevin Hanson once again credited a total team effort.
"Both games showed true signs of our depth which sparked us at both ends, especially being able to bring guys in defensively to rotate onto Justus Alleyn who had a heck of a game tonight," said Hanson. "I've had the chance to coach him and he's a great person and a great basketball player so he should be holding his head high leaving this gym after his last USPORTS game."
Hanson was also pleased with his teams shooting efficiency.
"You know we're a funny team that if we get hot and on a roll, we get in a positive mindset and can score in a multitude of ways," Hanson added. "They did a good job on us as we went through a little dry spell in the second-quarter but our I felt our defence held us in for the most part when we weren't getting those opportunities. Overall, I'm really pleased with it and looking forward to who we'll play next."
The Thunderbirds will have to wait for the results of the other Canada West best-of-three quarter-final series to play out this weekend before determining who their opponent will be in next weekend's semifinal.
Photo: Ben Nelms / UBC Thunderbirds