'Birds stay perfect with big second half

CALGARY – For most of the first half it looked like the top-ranked UBC Thunderbirds were headed for their first loss of the season, but a third-quarter collapse by the Calgary Dinos helped UBC overcome a 15-point halftime deficit to post a 79-71 win Saturday night.

No. 1 UBC extends its streak of perfection to 13 conference games, while fifth-ranked Calgary falls to 11-4 on the season after a highly-touted contest that did not disappoint the 1,632 fans in attendance at the Jack Simpson Gym.

Trailing by 15 at the half, the T-Birds brought significant pressure to bear on the Dinos in the third quarter, forcing 13 Calgary turnovers in the frame. UBC managed 16 points off of those turnovers in the period, and after outscoring Calgary 28-13 the game was all squared up at 55-55 as the fourth quarter began.

“They ramped it up, we didn’t respond, and we turned the ball over too much,” said Dan Vanhooren, 10-year head coach of the Dinos. “Those turnovers mostly came between centre and the foul line, which creates opportunities for easy scores. We got a little uptight, and even when we did make the right pass, we didn’t attack and we allowed them to recover.

“On the encouraging side, we know that we can play with that team, we know we can compete, and we did that without Robbie (Sihota) for most of the game. We have more to give.”

The fifth-year senior post Sihota ran into early foul trouble and played just 14 minutes on the night, including just three in the second half before fouling out, but still managed to put up 10 points for the Dinos.

UBC star guard Josh Whyte also ran into early foul trouble and sat out much of the first half, but he was a key reason the Thunderbirds were able to mount the comeback. In the pivotal third quarter, Whyte scored eight points and recorded three of his four steals on the night, while Kyle Watson also had three steals in the period. Whyte finished with 22 points on the night, four behind the sharp-shooting Blain LaBranche who finished with 26 after putting up 11 in each of the final two quarters.

The fourth quarter was evenly matched until late when UBC mounted an 8-0 run with just under three minutes to play. With the score tied 67-67, LaBranche hit one of his four threes on the night to put the T-Birds up by three. After another Calgary turnover, Whyte added a second trey followed by a pair of free throws to put the game out of reach. Calgary had led by as many as five points earlier in the quarter, but again it was LaBranche who stemmed the tide to spark UBC’s first 8-0 run of the quarter.

Tyler Fidler continued his strong play for the Dinos, registering 19 points and six rebounds while playing virtually the entire 40 minutes. Ross Bekkering added 14 points but was largely contained by the UBC defence, especially in the second half, while guard Jamie McLeod registered 13 points.

Brent Malish was the other Thunderbird to register double-digit scoring, pouring in 12 points to go with eight rebounds on the night.

UBC returns to the Lower Mainland next weekend to play a home-and-home series with Simon Fraser with the winner likely to grab the Pacific Division’s top seed for the upcoming playoffs. Calgary wraps up a six-game homestand next weekend when they host the Regina Cougars for a pair in the Jack.

Source:

Calgary Sports Info