Tyler Crayston, Brandon University Athletics
BRANDON, Man. – The No. 4 nationally ranked UBC Thunderbirds continued their winning ways on Saturday night at the Healthy Living Centre.
Jadon Cohee led the charge for the T-Birds with a game-high 34 points as UBC beat Brandon 94-74 to improve to 15-and-1.
"I feel like there is a lot of room for improvement – we are a young group," said Cohee. "We play really well in spurts and then go back to normal and then play well and settle back down. The biggest thing we need to learn if we want to take this season really far is play a full 40 minutes."
The Bobcats got off to a good start with a 17-11 lead in the opening quarter, but the T-Birds rallied with a 9-0 run to finish off the first.
UBC continued to build momentum with a 12-1 run to start the second. BU countered with a surge of offence before the break. Josh Bell made energy baskets and Tyvon Cooper hit a late three-pointer as the Bobcats closed the quarter with a 15-8 run.
The Thunderbirds came out flying in the third with an 11-2 run and their advantage later grew to 17 points. The Bobcats used the long ball to narrow the gap with BU hitting six three pointers to trim the deficit to a dozen going into the fourth.
UBC was in full control of the final frame and led by 20 or more for the majority of the fourth.
Grant Shephard and Patrick Simon both had double-doubles for the Thunderbirds. Shephard scored 25 points and 18 rebounds, while Simon added 16 points and 12 boards.
Canada West leading scorer Tyvon Cooper collected a team-high 24 points for the Bobcats, who slipped to 2-and-14.
"Our plan was to come out and hit first, but they really hit us first," said Jaleel Webb, who added 14 points for BU. "The third and fourth quarter they out rebounded us, played harder and we were not making a lot of shots."
Up next for Brandon is a road trip to Edmonton to meet the MacEwan Griffins, before closing out the regular season at home against the Mount Royal Cougars on February 1-2.
Meanwhile, the playoff bound Thunderbirds welcome the UNBC Timberwolves this coming weekend before a big set of road games against the No. 6 Alberta Golden Bears on February 1-2 to cap off the regular season.
(Photo Courtesy: Milana Paddock)