LANGLEY, B.C. – Trinity Western centre
Connor Platz (Langley, B.C.) could not be stopped on Friday, putting together a line of 26 points, 16 rebounds, and six blocks to lead the Spartans to an 85-82 victory over UBC Okanagan at the Langley Events Centre on Friday.
Platz hit a game-tying and-one bucket with less than 20 seconds remaining before hitting the free-throw, handing the Spartans their eventual victory.
TWU (10-5) also got significant contributions from
Josh Belvin (Long Beach, CA),
Vlad Mihaila (Surrey, B.C.), and
David Mutabazi (Delta, B.C.), who combined for 43 points. The Heat (5-10) were led by second-year guard Gus Goerzen, who put down 17 points while going 5-8 from 3-point range.
AS IT HAPPENED
A 12-3 Spartans run to start the match fell apart quickly as the Heat answered back, winning the quarter 24-22 on the back of Goerzen, who scored nine in the frame.
The second quarter was TWU's strongest, outscoring UBCO 24-12 with Belvin leading the charge. Belvin scored 11 of TWU's 24 in the quarter, making two steals in the process. The first half ended at a 46-38 TWU lead.
The Heat crept back into the game in the third quarter, cutting TWU's lead to three to end the quarter at 64-61.
UBCO kept it up to begin the fourth, moving to an eventual lead of 76-66 with 7:35 remaining in the game. The Spartans rallied back in the latter half of the quarter, which led to Platz hitting his and-one, then two Mutabazi free-throws for an 85-82 victory.
QUOTABLE
Trevor Pridie – TWU Head Coach
"We weren't very structured tonight. I wasn't thrilled with our offensive decision making – and when Mason [Bourcer] (Kelowna, B.C.) is out, we need to make sure we're more organized. Credit to UBCO for taking us out of rhythym tonight – they do that with the pressure they apply, but I still thought we could be more organized – we'll do a better job of that tomorrow.
"A win is a win, and it was nice giving some other guys some opportunities tonight. I thought Juice [
Josh Belvin} did some good things in spurts, Connor [Platz] was a monster, David [Mutabazi] had some big moments down the stretch, and Vlad [Mihaila] played really well too.
"Overall, I thought there were some good learning moments for us, so it should be a good film session and shoot tomorrow. Hopefully we can get the sweep."
NOTABLE
• The Spartans are 12-5 all-time against UBCO, going 6-4 in their last 10 matchups with the Heat.
• Platz tied TWU's single-game block record in regular season play with six on Friday. He now shares the record with Lance Verhoeff ('11, Calgary), who blocked six shots against Simon Fraser on Jan. 16, 2010.
• The Spartans struggled from 3-point range, going 1-14 from distance in the victory.
UP NEXT
The Spartans will stay at home for a rematch with UBCO on Saturday at 7:00 p.m. PT. TWU will be recognizing their graduating senior athletes before the match.
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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