By: Tyler Crayston, Brandon University Athletics

BRANDON - The UBC Thunderbirds bounced the Brandon Bobcats 84-68 on Saturday night at the Healthy Living Centre in Canada West men's basketball action.
 
Brandon led 19-17 at the end of the first quarter and the home side found their stride in the second quarter.
 
The 7-0 Bobcats' run gave them a 24-17 advantage and Brandon continued to surge as they extended their lead to 35-24.
 
At halftime, the Bobcats were up 40-34, but the Thunderbirds turned the tables after the break.
 
UBC outscored Brandon 25-11 in the third quarter and the seventh-ranked T-Birds were up 59-51 going into the fourth quarter.
 
The Thunderbirds showed no signs of slowing down and secured their fourth straight conference win.
 
Conor Morgan and Philip Jalalpoor provided a solid 1-2 offensive punch for UBC with both players pouring in 20 points.
 
Jordan Jensen-Whyte had a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds as the Thunderbirds improved their record to 14-and-4.
 
The Bobcats had four players in double-figures with D.J. Jordan scoring a game-high 21 points.
 
"We played really good basketball for the first-half and it felt like in the second-half that we let up a little bit. They got on a run and we could not match that back," said Jordan. "We kept fighting for the whole game. The first-half I thought we were going to win the game after that, we just needed 20 more minutes. They were better then us 20 more minutes."
 
John Paul was next with 13 points and nine rebounds as Brandon slipped to 1-and-17.
 
Chris Stanhope scored 12 points, while Earl Thompson Jr. rounded out the Bobcats' scoring with 10 points.
 
Brandon will visit the Victoria Vikes this coming weekend to close out the regular season, while UBC welcomes the Winnipeg Wesmen.
 
The Thunderbirds are continuing to build towards hosting the CIS National Men's Basketball Championship next month.

(Photo courtesy Mackenzie Gerry)