LANGLEY, B.C. – Ja'Qualyn Gilbreath (Amarillo, Texas) had his third double-double in as many days, collecting 22 points and grabbing 12 rebounds, to help lead Trinity Western to a 94-78 win over Thompson Rivers to complete a two-game sweep of the WolfPack Saturday at the Langley Events Centre. 

Holding a five-point lead early in the fourth quarter, the Spartans (2-7) pulled away from TRU (4-7) thanks to a 10-3 run midway through the final frame and the WolfPack never got closer than eight points down the stretch. The Spartans scored the final eight points of the game to earn a 16-point victory. 

Beyond Gilbreath, TWU had four others hit double-digits in points, with Isaiah Reimer (Abbotsford, B.C.) collecting 14, Mason Bourcier (Kelowna, B.C.) putting up 13 and both Tre Fillmore (Amarillo) and Andrew Goertzen (Langley, B.C.) adding 11 each. 

Bourcier's contribution was particularly impressive as he had 12 assists and seven rebounds without a single turnover. 

Brad King countered with 23 points and 13 rebounds for TRU, while Brendan Sullivan had 17 points. 

The Spartans shot 46.1 per cent from the field (35/76) compared to TRU, who shot 39.7 per cent (29/73) 

TWU won the turnover battle, committing just eight turnovers to TRU's 15. The Spartans had 11 steals to TRU's three. 

The Spartans wore specially designed black jerseys as part of TWU's Black Jersey series aimed to help raise greater awareness of the civil and human rights struggles of Black and racialized Canadians. The jerseys were designed by our TWU women's basketball forward Ose Obetoh (Port Coquitlam, B.C.) along with Fillmore and Gilbreath. Both the men's and women's basketball teams will also wear these jerseys on Feb. 4 as part of our Black History Month celebrations.

The game-worn jerseys will be auctioned off in an online auction, with proceeds going to the Vancouver Foundation in an effort to help Black students, who continue to encounter hurdles as marginalized members of our community, as they strive to reach their academic and athletic goals.

AS IT HAPPENED 
TWU opened the game on a 9-2 run and held a 23-18 lead through the first quarter.

The WolfPack hung with the Spartans in a back-and-forth second quarter that saw TWU take just a four-point advantage into halftime (42-38). 

The third quarter was much of the same, with both teams earning five-point leads, but nothing more. A buzzer-beating bank shot 3-pointer from TWU's Vlad Mihaila (Surrey, B.C.) sent the Spartans to the fourth quarter up 70-65. 

The WolfPack never got any closer the rest of the game, with Gilbreath putting up 10 points and grabbing five rebounds in the final quarter to lead TWU to the victory. 

QUOTABLE
Trevor Pridie, TWU Head Coach
"There was a really gritty win. Obviously it was the third night of a back-to-back-to-back and that's a tough team to play. TRU is tough and physical and we battled and we had the energy to have a massive fourth quarter. The guys dug so deep and they showed a lot of heart and a lot of fight. I was super happy with the pace and we had tons of guys contribute. Multiple guys had massive moments in the game that had a big impact on the win. 

"Mason was fantastic. Q was phenomenal as always – making big plays and being so big on the boards. Those two dunks for Goertzen were huge. We were looking so flat and suddenly Goertzen gets an and-1 dunk and then another and then he takes a charge. We desperately needed something and that was a massive part of the game. Then Connor (Platz, Langley) runs the floor and gets that lay-up. Isaiah hits those three 3-pointers in a row. And then Vlad's bank shot. Everyone did something."

NOTABLE 
•    The Spartans held the lead or were tied for all but 2:18 of the game.
•    Bourcier's 12 assists had him only one shy of the TWU record of 13, which is held by Adam Friesen and Ethan DaSilva. 
•    TWU is now 20-8 all-time in conference play against TRU. 
•    The last time TWU officially won back-to-back games was in 2017-18 when the Spartans earned wins on Jan. 27 (TRU) and Feb. 2 (MacEwan).
•    The Spartans will be aiming for three wins in a row next weekend against UFV, something TWU hasn't done since a six-game winning streak in 2012-13.

NEXT UP
TWU will take on local rival Fraser Valley Jan. 21-22 in Abbotsford, B.C. The games will not be open to fans. 

About Spartan Athletics
As official members of U SPORTS, the Spartans currently compete in 13 sports in the Canada West conference, including women's and men's soccer, volleyball, basketball, hockey, cross country and track & field, as well as women's rugby sevens. TWU also competes as an independent team in men's rugby. Since TWU entered U SPORTS in 1999, the Spartans have won 12 U SPORTS team championships and 29 Canada West team championships.

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