CIS men's basketball Saturday roundup: Trinity Western's Doerksen scores 42 points in win over UFV

Photo credit Trinity Western Athletics

LANGLEY, British Columbia – Trinity Western's Jacob Doerksen had a school record breaking 42-point night Saturday leading his team to a 114-89 win over Fraser Valley at the Langley Events Centre.

After the first quarter, Doerksen had a fairly standard eight points. But then the big man from Abbotsford, B.C. really started to heat up.

Doerksen had 12 points in the second quarter alone, followed that up with a 15-point third quarter and then wrapped up his historic night with a six-point fourth quarter. And with a buzz in a crowd that was anticipating history, Doerksen broke the eight-year old record of 41 points – held by Fraser Valley assistant coach Adam Friesen, who had his record-setting night against McMaster Oct. 25, 2002 – with a deep three-ball with just over four minutes left in the game.

Doerksen also set the school record for field goals made with 16, breaking his own record of 15 he set against Saskatchewan Nov. 7, 2008.

"He's doing what he's capable of, playing inside and outside and it depends on who's guarding him where his strength is," said TWU coach Scott Allen. "But today his strength was inside and outside and rebounding also. It's a pleasure to coach Jake and actually see him take over that school record. It'll probably be broken some day but that's pretty big feat if anybody can do that."

The Spartans also set school records for 3-point field goals made with 20 – with the previous record being 16 against Regina on Nov. 3, 2006 – and 3-point field goals attempted with 41, with the previous record being 40 against UBC Oct. 27, 2006. The team's 28 assists was also the third most in TWU history, seven short of a 35-assist effort against Manitoba Feb. 6, 2009.

The Doerksen dominated win, one in which TWU was only three points shy of the school record for most points which was set earlier this year against Thompson Rivers Nov. 6, earned TWU its 10th win in a row and improved its overall record to 12-2. The loss drops Fraser Valley to 4-8 on the year.

While the game ended in dramatic fashion favouring TWU, it started largely in favour of Fraser Valley, as the Cascades had a 14-4 lead before the contest was five minutes old. Joel Friesen had seven points in that span and UFV looked the sharper of the two teams early on.

But then a Calvin Westbrook 3-pointer got the Spartans going. Kyle Coston followed that up with a long-range shot of his own to get TWU back within four points and back in the game. The Spartans finished the quarter with five 3-pointers and managed to get the game tied 21-21 going into the second quarter. Fraser Valley's Friesen had 10 points to lead the Cascades, including going two for two from beyond the arc.

In the second quarter, the game stayed tight as both teams continued to push their 3-point agenda – the teams combined for 31 three-point shots attempted and 14 made – but neither squad was able to take control as the half ended 44-42 for TWU.

But recess changed everything.

The Doerksen and Danny Horner presentation arrived right on cue as Horner had 11 points, including three from distance, and Doerksen continued his impressive showing with 15 more points. The Spartans outscored UFV 39-23 in the quarter, which only one point shy of the school record for points in a quarter, set earlier this year in a 116-79 win over Lethbridge Oct. 22.

By the start of the fourth quarter, all that was left to be determined was if Doerksen would break the record. And with 4:24 left in the game, he hit a 3-pointer to send the crowd into a frenzy.

"I think we just stuck with it," Allen said about his team's 25-point win. "They made a lot of runs on us when we could have probably taken off. I think we just wore them down. We had a big third quarter and we had a lot of second chance points and made good adjustments to how they were playing us. And that's not always coaching, it's players recognizing and I think we're really starting to understand what we're trying to do here."

After Doerksen, Calvin Westbrook had 19 points and Horner had 15. Doerksen and Kyle Coston each had eight rebounds to lead TWU.

Overshadowed by Doerksen's performance was a 32-point effort from UFV's Sam Freeman. Friesen finished with 22 points.

Game Notes: The Spartans shot 48.8 per cent from 3-point range while UFV shot 40.9 per cent...TWU had seven turnovers to UFV's 12...TWU won the rebounding battle 41-35.

Source: Trinity Western Sports Info