By Katie Maryschuk, Trinity Western University
LANGLEY, B.C. – Saturday's rematch between the Trinity Western Spartans and the visiting Winnipeg Wesmen saw a nearly identical game to Friday's, with the Wesmen winning the game 83-54 in spite of a close first half at the Langley Events Centre.
The second half of the game was the deciding factor, when the Wesmen pulled away with 15 points from forward Billy Yaworsky and a final free throw percentage of 64.7 to the Spartans 42.9.
Fourth-year Spartan Ethan DaSilva (Calgary, Alta.) and Tee Maberry (Pasadena, Calif.) tied for points with nine each, with Maberry also grabbing 11 rebounds and DaSilva also nabbing five steals. Andrew Goertzen (Langley) tallied eight rebounds. On the Wesmen team, Sean Tarver scored 20 points, four of which were 3-pointers and teammate Joseph Medrano contributed 13.
The win improves Winnipeg's record to 10-4, while the Spartans drop to 0-12.
The Spartans held the first few moments of the game, managing a seven-point lead before the Wesmen started to creep back. It was DaSilva who led the quarter with five points, sinking two field goals and one 3-pointer. The quarter ended with TWU up 16-12, with the Spartans shooting 43.8 per cent from the field to the Wesmen's 20.0 per cent.
Borja Soriano (Valencia, Spain) started the second quarter with two layups that improved the Spartans lead. Then it was Maberry with a jump shot to make it 25-14. The Wesmen snuck their way back to a 38-33 lead, going seven for eight from the free throw line, with two apiece from Sean Tarver and Adam Benrabah.
The game remained close into the third quarter, but it was Yaworsky who contributed seven points in the quarter after coming into the game midway through the frame. Winnipeg edged the Spartans 21-11 in the quarter, heading into the final 10 minutes with a 59-44 win.
The Wesmen added another 24 points in the final quarter to end the game with a 29-point victory.
NOTABLE
• The last time TWU played Winnipeg, the Spartans also lost both games (111-65 and 84-80).
• The last time the Spartans beat the Wesmen was Feb. 7, 2015 when TWU won 97-84 on home court.
• Winnipeg had a 57-50 edge on the glass.
• TWU committed 16 turnovers, while Winnipeg had 18.
QUOTABLE
Aaron Muhic – TWU Head Coach
"You know I thought the first quarter was really good. I thought there was a lot of good ball movement and execution. We got some good stops and we were playing at our pace. But then, we struggled with our mental toughness and the more we played the worse it got. There just wasn't a lot of support for each other. We kind of splintered and we went our own separate ways.
"As far as positives, I thought Tee did a really good job. I don't think he gave up and he was rebounding well and gave us a great effort. But, at the end of the day, we couldn't score in the second half and our guys got frustrated."
NEXT UP
The Spartans will host UBC next Friday and Saturday at the Langley Events Centre. Game times are scheduled for 8 p.m. and 7 p.m. (PT). Winnipeg heads home to host Thompson Rivers at home, with game times scheduled for 8 p.m. and 5 p.m. (CST).
-TW-