VANCOUVER –  Despite another big night from Ja'Qualyn Gilbreath, the Spartans men's basketball team fell 124-94 against UBC at the War Memorial Gymnasium. 
 
Gilbreath (Amarillo, Tex.), who was coming off a triple-double in Thursday's loss to UBC, scored 34 points to lead the Spartans offensively. It was the seventh time this season the fourth-year guard has surpassed the 30-point mark in a regular season game.
 
Jadon Cohee had a team-high 21 points for UBC, while Grant Shephard added 19 for the home side.
 
The loss drops TWU to 2-10 on the season, while the win improves UBC to 11-3.
 
An early dunk from Grant Audu gave UBC an early 14-6 lead in the first quarter, but Gilbreath responded with a steal and a breakaway dunk of his own. Jack Nadelhoffer (Tigard, Ore.) cut the deficit to two with a three at 16-14 before the Thunderbirds went on a 10-0 run as UBC ended the first quarter up 29-18.
 
Cohee hit a fading jumper as the shot clock expired early in the second quarter to then put UBC up 36-23. TWU chipped away as the third quarter progressed and a Gilbreath dunk made it 51-40, but Cohee connected on three free throws to send the UBC into halftime up 54-41.
 
Shephard opened the second half with his third dunk of the game on an alley-oop. Lincoln Rosebush subbed in for Shephard after the big man took his fourth personal foul, and the second-year forward picked up right where Shephard left off with a hard take to the rim at 83-58. Gilbreath then closed out the third quarter emphatically, banking in a 3-pointer from the logo at the buzzer to close out the quarter with TWU down 96-73.
 
The Thunderbirds continued to outpace the Spartans in the final frame and utilized their bench to secure the 124-94 win on home court.
 
QUOTABLE
Trevor Pridie – TWU Head Coach
 
"It was a tough one tonight, as our transition defence was a huge problem for us. Offensively we had some good looks but just couldn't knock our shots down. It was another big night from Ja'Qualyn, who was two assists shy of another triple double. Had we hit more of his kick outs he would've done something fairly historic. In a night where we fouled too much the effort wasn't quite what it was like on Thursday. UBC's urgency outmatched us, so after playing two really good games it was disappointing to have this one."
 
NOTABLE

• Spartans guard Ja'Qualyn Gilbreath leads both Canada West and U SPORTS in scoring.
• TWU last beat the Thunderbirds on November 9, 2013 in Vancouver (73-66).
• The Spartans are now 13-46 lifetime against UBC, and have lost their last 10 games.
• UBC's 124 points in Saturday's match was just three points shy of the programs single game regulation scoring record.

 
NEXT UP
The Spartans return home to face Fraser Valley Thursday (Jan. 16) at the Langley Events Centre. 

About Spartan Athletics
As official members of U SPORTS, the Spartans currently compete in 11 sports in the Canada West conference, including women's and men's soccer, volleyball, basketball, cross country and track & field, as well as women's rugby sevens. TWU also competes in the British Columbia Intercollegiate Hockey League (BCIHL) in men's hockey and as an independent team in men's rugby. The men's and women's hockey programs will begin playing in Canada West and U SPORTS in 2020-21. Since TWU entered U SPORTS in 1999, the Spartans have won 12 U SPORTS team championships and 27 Canada West team championships and two BCIHL championships.
 
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