CALGARY, Alberta – Playing in their first Canada West post season game in nine years (2012-13) the Trinity Western Spartans men's basketball team made a statement with a 37 point win, 115-78, over the MacEwan Griffins Thursday night at the Jack Simpson Gym in Calgary, Alberta. TWU, who was seeded No. 11, finished the regular season 8-10, while MacEwan, who came in at No. 16, finished at 0-16.
 
Tonight's game was also a return to the post season after a lengthy absence for the Griffins. MacEwan's last post season appearance was in 2015-16 when they lost in the opening round 2-1 to the University of Alberta.
 
The Spartans finished the night with five players in double-digit scoring. But the story of the night was the dynamic back-court duo of Ja'Qualyn Gilbreath, who led the nation in scoring and was a Canada West second team all-star, and Mason Bourcier, who set the Canada West career and single season triple-double record and broke the Canada West single season assist record. Both Gilbreath and Bourcier achieved the rare feat of posting triple-doubles. Gilbreath finished with 19 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists, while Bourcier, who also set the Canada West single season assist record with 8.2 per game, finished the night with 15 points, 13 assists and 11 rebounds.
 
Also, hitting double digits in scoring for the Spartans were Andrew Goertzen with 16 points, Connor Platz with 12 points and nine rebounds, and Isaiah Reimer with 10 points.
 
The Griffins also had three players hit double digits in scoring. Mason Hunter with 21 points, Colton Halbersma with 19 points and six rebounds, and Damilola Osuma with 11 points and eight rebounds led the MacEwan attack.
 
AS IT HAPPENED
The Spartans came out and dominated the opening quarter. MacEwan opened the scoring and took an early 5-4 lead, but then Trinity Western took over. The Spartans controlled both ends of the court as they outscored the Griffins. 24-0 to take a 28-5 lead with 2:45 remaining in the first quarter. MacEwan finally got back in the scoring column as the quarter ended to trail TWU 36-14 at the end of 10 minutes. TWU shot 60 percent (15-25) from the field, 50 percent (5-10) from the three point line and 50 percent (1-2) from the foul line, while MacEwan shot 26.3 percent (5-19), 25 percent (3-12) and 50 percent (1-2) respectively.
 
Trinity Western extended their lead 27 points, 46-19, to start the second quarter. MacEwan responded and made it a 20 point game, 49-29, with a 10-3 run midway through the quarter. But the Spartans took over again and finished the quarter with a 14-2 run to lead 63-31 at the half. TWU shot 57.9 percent (11-19) from the field, 40 percent (4-10) from the three point line and 50 percent (1-2) from the foul line. MacEwan shot 27.8 percent (5-18) from the field, 22.2 percent (2-9) from the three point line, and 100 percent (5-5) from the foul line.
 
MacEwan had their best quarter of the game in the third quarter. The Griffins matched the Spartans for the first five minutes and trailed by 34 points, 77-43, with five minutes remaining in the quarter.  Over the final five minutes the Griffins outscored the Spartans 14-8 to cut the TWU lead to 28 points, 85-57, heading into the final quarter. TWU shot 47.6 percent (10-21) from the field, 20 percent (1-5) from the three point line and 50 percent (1-2) from the foul line. MacEwan shot 45.5 percent (10-22), 30 percent (3-10) and 50 percent (3-6) respectively.
 
NOTABLE

• The Spartans set a TWU record for most points in a post season game and fourth highest scoring game with the 115 points. The TWU record is 128 points, which was set in a double overtime conference game against UBC October 27, 2006.
• TWU finished the night shooting 56.8 percent (50-88) from the field and 37.5 percent (12-32) from the three point line and 37.5 percent (3-8) from the foul line. While MacEwan shot 33.8 percent (27-80), 23.7 percent (9-38) and 68.2 percent (15-22).
• The 56.8 percent shooting is the 15 highest in program history, conference and post season (third highest), The TWU post season record is 58.6 percent (34-58) which was set in a 96-73 win over UBC, February 21, 2004.
• The Spartans had a 54-43 edge in rebounding, a 31-10 edge in assists, and a 7-1 edge in steals.

QUOTABLE
TWU guard Mason Bourcier
Thoughts on starting the tournament off the way you did?
"After a long start to the season and trying to figure out how guys played with each other, this was the ideal start to the playoffs. If anything, three games, this is a good warmup. Now we're ready to play Calgary and play some tougher matches. (Tonight) was nice because we could really get out in transition, get a comfortable feel for the court and everyone got on the scoreboard today. It's a great start. Everyone's touching the ball, everyone's having fun. It was a good start."
 
Thoughts on finally traveling outside the province and playing different teams after this year's scheduling?
"It's refreshing is the best way to put it. It's nice to see new teams. It adds a little sense of competitiveness to the game, because you realize that you're seeing new teams and that means it's the playoffs. It's definitely nice."
 
TWU Head coach Trevor Pridie
Thoughts on how your team played tonight?
"It was awesome. We come out here, first playoff game my staff and our guys have ever played – it was awesome. Great to get that win. Our guys played with a lot of energy right from the get go and controlled the game. We get guys lots of minutes. We are pretty motivated and excited. We feel like we have a good chance to go on a run here. It was exciting for us to get this thing started.
 
"I think the highlight for me – outside the win – was 'Q' and 'Mace.' Both those guys we felt got snubbed on the Canada West All Star voting. Q gets a second team when he lead the nation in scoring and Mason sets I don't know how many records this year… These guys have two of the greatest statistical seasons ever. They help build this program and turn this thing around and they both have triple-doubles tonight. That was pretty cool and pretty special for those guys in their first playoff win and we're looking forward to playing again tomorrow."
 
What do you think about this format playing multiple teams in consecutive days?
"I like having the single-elimination stuff – I think it's fun. I like the March Madness, NCAA bracket idea. I think that's cool. It's fun. All the teams are here. It's a cool venue. I think Calgary's done a good job. It's win or go home. We're playing someone new tomorrow and then if we win, someone new again on Saturday. We're excited."
 
MacEwan Head coach Mike Connolly
Thoughts on how your team played tonight?
"At the beginning, we were a little scared when they jumped on us, and we couldn't recover. I thought we did some good things at the end, but again, we have had some terrible starts, and that is our biggest downfall all year. We aren't deep and we're young, and we are learning. I thought there were some good moments out there, we just need to keep working on our game."
 
UP NEXT
The Spartans will play tomorrow night against the Calgary Dinos in the second game of the Canada West play-offs. Tip-off is set 8 p.m. MT at the Jack Simpson Gym on the campus of the University of Calgary.
 
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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