LANGLEY, B.C. – Alberta had six players hit double digits in scoring, as the Bears rolled to a 113-68 win over Trinity Western Friday at the Langley Events Centre. 

Adam Paige led the way for the Bears (14-1), earning a double-double, with 19 points and 11 rebounds. Geoffrey James added 18 points, while Lars Ishimwe had 17 points. 

TWU's Riley Braich (Abbotsford, B.C.) had 15 points to lead the Spartans in scoring, while Ethan DaSilva (Calgary) had 13 points, eight rebounds and seven assists. Andrew Goertzen (Langley) had 10 points. 

Alberta shot 54.3 per cent (44-81) from the field, while TWU shot 35.7 per cent (25-70). 

The Bears raced out to a 14-2 lead just five minutes into the first quarter, setting the tone for the rest of the game, as Alberta went on to outscore TWU 34-13 through 10 minutes. Alberta's Paige had a team-high 10 points in the frame for a Bears side that shot 54.5 per cent (12-22) from the field. Braich had six points for the Spartans, who shot 35.7 per cent (5-14).

The second quarter was more of the same, as Alberta rang up another 23 points while holding TWU to 12 points to take a 57-25 lead into halftime. 

Paige had 13 points and James had 12 points at the break for the Bears, who had six players with six or more points in the first half. Braich had a team-high eight points for TWU, while Goertzen had seven points. 

TWU was better in the second half, but the Spartans never threatened the Alberta lead, with the Bears outscoring TWU 56-43 over the final 20 minutes. 

QUOTABLE
Trevor Pridie – TWU Head Coach
"It was a tough game for us. Obviously not having Ja'Qualyn and learning of the news so close to game time was difficult. I thought we had some gutsy performances given the circumstances we were in. It wasn't easy, but we'll regroup and get back at it tomorrow."

NOTABLE
•    Alberta has now nine games in a row, having recently swept last weekend's games against MacEwan.
•    The Spartans have lost eight consecutive games against Alberta, with its last win coming at home Jan. 11, 2013 (90-85).
•    Just hours before Friday's game, Ja'Qualyn Gilbreath (Amarillo, Texas) and the team were made aware of the fact that a Trinity Western University administrative error related to the misapplication of the U.S. student transfer rule resulted in Gilbreath being deemed ineligible for the remainder of the 2019-20 season.

NEXT UP
The Spartans and Bears play the rematch Saturday at 5 p.m. at the LEC.

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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