LANGLEY, British Columbia – Mason Bourcier (Kelowna, B.C.) scored 32 and dished out 10 dimes to lead the Trinity Western Spartans to an impressive 102-88 victory over the Fraser Valley Cascades Saturday night at the Langley Events Centre in Langley, B.C. The victory improves the Spartans record to 6-4, while the loss drops the Cascades to 3-5.
In addition to Bourcier, the Spartans had five players hit double digits in scoring in a balanced attack.
Daniel Stead (Langley, B.C.) had 13 points,
Tre Fillmore (Amarillo, TX),
David Mutabazi (Delta, B.C.), and
Connor Platz (Langley, B.C.) each had 12 points, while
Vlad Mihaila (Surrey, B.C.) added 11 points for the Spartans. Courtenay Anderson (Palestine, TX) with 23 points, and Dario Lopez (Madrid, Spain) and Matthias Klim (Chilliwack, B.C.) with 13 points each led the Cascades.
AS IT HAPPENED
The Spartans came out flat to start the night and trailed the Cascades by 10 points, 32-22 after the opening quarter. But, a dominating second quarter, outscoring UFV 30-13 on the back of a 25-5 run, set the tone for the remainder of the contest as the Spartans went into the half with a solid 52-45 lead.
After the third quarter, the Spartans saw their lead shrink to eight points, 73-65. However, any question on the outcome was quickly dissuade after the first five minutes of the final frame, which saw TWU leading 92-75 five minutes into the final quarter. Both teams emptied their benches and the Spartans cruised to a 14-point victory, 102-88.
QUOTABLE
TWU Head Coach Trevor Pridie
"It was a big weekend for our shot-making. We hit 17 of 42 3-pointers, and we hit just about as many last night. We played really well defensively, and our zone was good. We also did a better rebounding job tonight too. Both nights brought good team wins for us with a bunch of guys contributing.
"Mason [Bourcier] was fantastic again tonight. We're tough to beat if he shows up and shoots like he did tonight. Vlad [Mihaila] and Daniel [Stead] both had big nights, we're a lot more confident when those two are hitting shots. It was really cool for Connor [Platz] to set the school record in blocks. He's so tough to play against with the way he changes everything around the rim.
"Going into the break at 6-4 is big. We're happy with what we've done, so we'll get some rest and get ready for a strong push in the second semester."
NOTABLE
• The Spartans are 18-23 lifetime against the Cascades.
• Last night TWU defeated UFV 99-84.
• TWU shot 50 percent (39/78) from the field, 53.1 percent (17/32) from the three-point line, and 77.8 percent (7/9) from the foul line, while UFV shot 44.6 percent (37/83), 16.7 percent (5/30) and 75 percent (9/12) respectively.
• The Cascades had a 46-38 edge in rebounds, and a 10-7 edge in steals.
• TWU had 38 points in the paint, while UFV had 36 points in the paint.
• Platz had two blocks on the evening to bring his season total to 26 blocks to breaking the TWU single season conference record, which was set, 25, by Patrick Vandervelden in 2016-17.
• Platz currently has 43 career blocks. Which puts him fourth on the all-time TWU blocks list. Michael Brouwer, 2004-2009, holds the record with 61.
UP NEXT
The Spartans are now off for the Christmas break. TWU will tip-off the second semester when they head to Edmonton to take on the MacEwan Griffins on January 6-7. Game times are set for 8 p.m. on both nights and can be seen live on CanadaWest.TV.
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 13 U SPORTS team championships and 32 Canada West team championships.
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