Men's basketball settles for weekend split with Timberwolves
The UBC Okanagan Heat men's basketball team had to settle for a weekend split with the UNBC Timberwolves after suffering an 83-72 loss at the Charles Jago Northern Sports Centre on Saturday evening.
After a tightly contested opening half in which the Heat held a narrow 41-40 lead, the Timberwolves used a strong third quarter, outscoring UBCO 25-15, to propel them to the win.
Guards Jalen Shirley of Brampton, Ont., and Jeffrey Tezo of Montreal, carried the offensive load for the Heat on the night, combining to take 43 of the Heat's 72 shot attempts.
Shirley would finish the game with 23 points, marking the fourth-time this season he's scored more than 20 points in a contest. He would add four assists and two rebounds to his efforts.
Meanwhile, Tezo added 15 points in his first start in a Heat uniform.
Leon Schenker of Vernon, B.C., would add 12 points off the bench for UBCO.
UNBC was led on the night by Justin Sunga of Burnaby, B.C., as he scored a game-high 25 points while Evgeny Baukin of Moscow, Russia added 24 points.
UBCO struggled to get into a rhythm offensively as the finished the game shooting 36 percent from the floor compared to the Timberwolves who shot 45 percent.
The setback leaves the Heat with a 3-5 record and in a three-way tie for fourth-place in the Canada West Pacific division with Trinity Western and Thompson Rivers. As for the Timberwolves, they pick up their first win of the year, improving to 1-7 on the season.
UBCO will look to bounce back when they close out their first-half schedule at home next weekend. The Heat will open the weekend against the U SPORTS No. 3-ranked UBC Thunderbirds on Friday night, November 29 as they host their first-ever Neon Night. In partnership with UBCO Recreation's Glow with the Flow event, the game will feature a live DJ throughout the night, glowsticks and halftime yoga in the stands.
Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. at the UBCO Gymnasium and tickets for the game can be purchased at the door on game day.
______________________
Women's basketball drops late decision to Timberwolves
The UBC Okanagan Heat women's basketball team were unable to hold onto their fourth-quarter lead on Saturday night as they lost 68-67 to the UNBC Timberwolves at the Charles Jago Northern Sports Centre.
Leading by 12 heading into the final frame, the Heat were outscored 23-10 by the hosts in the fourth quarter as they lost both weekend matchups to the Timberwolves.
Lily Pink of Kelowna, B.C., was impressive for the Heat as she recorded her second double-double of the campaign, scoring a team-high 18 points while pulling down 12 rebounds.
Kiana Kaczur of Kamloops, B.C., and Abby Smith of Winnipeg each added nine points off the bench for the Heat.
UNBC's Russian duo of Sveta Boykova and Viktoriia Filatova, both from Moscow, were strong again for the Timberwolves. Boykova finished with 20 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists while Filatova had 18 points off the bench, including the game-winning basket late in the fourth quarter.
The setback leaves the Heat with a 3-5 record, now tied with the Timberwolves for fifth-place in the Canada West Pacific division.
UBCO will look to bounce back when they close out their first-half schedule at home next weekend. The Heat will open the weekend against the U SPORTS No. 2-ranked UBC Thunderbirds on Friday night, November 29 as they host their first-ever Neon Night. In partnership with UBCO Recreation's Glow with the Flow event, the game will feature a live DJ throughout the night, glowsticks and halftime yoga in the stands.
Tipoff is set for 5 p.m. at the UBCO Gymnasium and tickets for the game can be purchased at the door on game day.
___________________________
Women's volleyball falls to No. 2 Cascades
The UBC Okanagan Heat women's volleyball team lost in three sets (23-25, 17-25, 14-25) to the U SPORTS No. 2-ranked UFV Cascades as the two teams wrapped up their weekend doubleheader at the UBCO Gymnasium on Friday night.
The Heat managed to keep things close in the opening set but the Cascades never gave UBCO any easy points throughout the match as they won both games of the weekend matchup.
Fifth-year senior Amaya Perry of Chin, Alta., led the way for the Heat as she posted 12 kills for the second time in three matches. She also added an ace, moving her into sole possession of ninth place for aces in a career in Canada West history with 148.
Second-year setter Calista Cencig of Kelowna, B.C., posted a career-high 13 assists as she played two sets for the Heat while Olivia Boulding of Victoria chipped in with seven kills.
Once again, the Cascades were led by the Attieh sisters, Lauren and Talia, both of Surrey, B.C., as the pair each recorded 11 kills.
The loss drops the Heat's record to 3-5 on the season while UFV remains tops in the conference at 9-1.
UBCO will close out the first half of their 2024-25 season schedule next weekend when they travel to Calgary to take on the Dinos (2-6) for a pair of contests. The two games will mark the first time the Heat haven't played a nationally-ranked opponent since their season-opening weekend in October against MacEwan.
Game one of the doubleheader is set for Friday, November 29 at 5 p.m. PT and the game can be seen live on CanadaWest.tv presented by BioSteel.
___________________
Men's volleyball continues to roll with straight sets win over UFV
- The UBC Okanagan Heat men's volleyball team continued their outstanding form on Saturday afternoon at the UBCO Gymnasium as they beat the UFV Cascades in three sets (25-21, 25-19, 25-17) to sweep the weekend doubleheader between the two squads.
The victory moved the Heat to 6-2 on the season, marking the best start to a Canada West season through eight games in program history. The win also kept the Heat in sole possession of fourth place in the conference as the team nears the halfway point of the regular season.
The Heat were dominant in nearly every aspect of the game on Saturday. The team hit .260 percent compared to the Cascades .088 percent while also outpacing the visitors in aces (6-2) and blocks (9-6).
Thys Weststrate of Kelowna, B.C., who returned from injury this weekend, put together another outstanding performance to earn player of the game honours. The third-year middle had seven kills on nine attempts, hitting .556 percent, while adding two aces, six total blocks and a dig for a team-high 12.5 points.
He now sits alone in first place in the conference for blocks per set at 1.22 while his 0.5 aces per set ranks him third in Canada West.
Setter Zach van Geel of Calgary once again spread the ball around efficiently in the match, posting 25 assists as he now sits fourth in Canada West for assists per set at 8.93.
Jack Taylor of Winnipeg posted a team-best nine kills for the Heat while Seba Manuel of Kelowna, B.C., chipped in with eight.
Nimo Benne of Castricum, The Netherlands and Roan McCarthy of Lake Country, B.C., paced the Cascades attack with eight kills apiece.
Winners of three straight matches, the Heat will look to continue their winning ways on the road next weekend when they head to Calgary to take on the Dinos for their final two games before the holiday break.
Game one of the weekend doubleheader is set for 6:30 p.m. PT on Friday, November 29 and the action can be seen live on CanadaWest.tv presented by BioSteel.