Aaron Martin (UBC Athletics)
VANCOUVER – The UBC Thunderbirds men's basketball team (7-2), ranked ninth nationally, parlayed an electrifying seven-minute stretch in the second quarter to victory on Saturday night, besting the visiting Lethbridge Pronghorns (5-2) 95-73 at War Memorial Gym.
Guard Phil Jalalpoor (Schifferstadt, Germany) paced the 'Birds with 19 points, including 16 in the second frame, and six assists. ForwardPatrick Simon (Port Coquitlam, B.C.) added 16 points and a team-best eight rebounds, while veterans Conor Morgan (Victoria, B.C.) and David Wagner (Kamloops, B.C.) netted 15 apiece.
The 'Birds game-plan from the get-go was to get it inside to Wagner, and they succeeded in the early going, as he had six of UBC's first 11 points, helping UBC to a 11-10 lead just minutes into the contest.
From there, the first quarter was all Lethbridge, as the Pronghorns went on an 11-3 run to close out the frame. Six-foot-seven guard Zac Overwater hit seven of his team-high 14 points in the first 15 minutes, including the final bucket that gave the visitors a 21-14 lead going into the break.
Then, after the Pronghorns opened up 26-16 advantage just two minutes into the second quarter, the skies opened up, and the 'Birds started raining them down.
The Thunderbirds unleashed an onslaught of three-point shots, with Jalalpoor hitting four in the last five minutes of the frame. Simon added a pair of his own, and rookie guard Taylor Browne (Surrey, B.C.) drilled one. By the time the dust settled, the 'Birds had engineered a 29-10 run, giving them a 45-36 lead at halftime.
Morgan, who was held to a single point in the opening half, made his presence felt to start the third quarter, getting the T-Birds' seven points of the stanza. The 6-foot-9 forward showed of his athleticism with his first bucket, taking a terrific feed from Will Ondrik (Vernon, B.C.) and throwing down a vicious alley-oop.
With the emergence of Morgan, and another pair of threes from Jalalpoor and Simon, the 'Birds quickly built up a 60-43 lead by midway through the quarter.
With a minute and a half left in the frame, Jordan Jensen-Whyte (Calgary) flashed on the fast break, taking a nifty pass from A. J. Holloway (Tacoma, Wash) and slashing around a defender, finishing at the rim and drawing a foul for the three-point play, which put UBC up 67-52.
Just 90 seconds later, the whistle sounded to end the third quarter, with the home side up 72-58.
One of the highlights of the contest came three minutes into the final period. Up 76-61, Morgan hit a streaking Jensen-Whyte with a picture-perfect, long outlet pass. The 6-foot-6 guard flew down the right side of the floor into the paint, delivering a nasty one-handed slam over a pair of Lethbridge defenders.
Using mostly substitutes down the stretch, the 'Birds continued to dictate play down to the final buzzer, at which the scoreboard read 95-73 for the hosts.
UBC head coach Kevin Hanson cited the team's recent experience in the United States, where they went 2-1 in three games against California clubs over the holiday break, as a factor in his team's resiliency coming back from the early deficit.
"The big difference is now, after playing like we did down in the States, we have the confidence to weather the storms and keep going," said Hanson. "There's lots of room for improvement, as there always is, but obviously, we're pretty happy with this result for our first game back."
Lethbridge will look for a series split tomorrow, as they return to War Memorial Gym for the second leg of the back-to-back set. The opening tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. (PT).
This two-game series marks the beginning of UBC's stretch run to March, as the 'Birds prepare to host the CIS Men's Basketball Final 8, which will see the absolute best basketball players in Canada make their way to the UBC campus.
Get your tournament packages, as the competition is set to take place from March 17-20 at the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre.
IMAGE CREDIT: Rich Lam/UBC Thunderbirds