VANCOUVER, British Columbia – After remaining even for much of the game the Trinity Western Spartans fell 98-84 to the No. 4 UBC Thunderbirds Saturday night at the War Memorial Gym in Vancouver, B.C. The win puts UBC's record at 8-4, while the loss drops TWU to 1-11.

Third-year guard David Mutabazi (Delta, B.C.) with 22 points, and eight rebounds, second-year forward Aristote Kalala (Cape Town, South Africa) with 18 points, and seven rebounds, fourth-year guard Josh Belvin (Long Beach, Calf.) with 18 points, and six assists, second-year guard Marcus Shankar (Campbell River, B.C.) with 14 points, and three rebounds, and third-year centre Connor Platz (Langley, B.C.) with 10 points, nine rebounds, and four blocks all hit double-digit scoring for the Spartans. Brian Wallack with 24 points, and eight rebounds, Micah Jessie with 15 points, and seven assists, Victor Radocaj with 13 points, and four rebounds, James Woods with 11 points, and eight rebounds, and Fareed Shittu with 10 points and eight rebounds hit double-digit scoring for the Thunderbirds.

AS IT HAPPENED
UBC came out strong and quickly jumped out to an eight-point lead, 12-4. However, TWU did fight back, keeping the lead within single digits, but UBC remained ahead up 20-15 at the end of the first, holding the Spartans to just 26 percent shooting from the field.

Radocaj continued his strong first half with a three-pointer to open the scoring in the second quarter. A putback dunk by Fareed Shittu and then a Jessie triple made it 34-26 for UBC as they threatened to stretch their lead.

However, the Thunderbirds failed to close the half well as the Spartans ripped off a 17-7 run in the final few minutes to give them a 43-41 advantage at the break, capped off by Marcus Shankar hitting two threes in the final 20 seconds of the quarter.

The two teams traded buckets early in the third, going back and forth until TWU went on a run to take a 59-54 lead, their biggest of the night. It was short-lived though, as the Thunderbirds immediately responded with a quick five points of their own.

The offenses came alive as the third came to a close, with both sides nailing threes including a pair from UBC's Tobi Akinkunmi. After Shankar hit another last-second shot the score was tied at 70 apiece going into the fourth.

A big block by Radocaj followed by a floater from Jessie gave the T-Birds the lead early in the final quarter, one that they would never relinquish. UBC took all the momentum, with Wallack feeding Shittu for a big slam to make it 81-74 with five minutes left.

After James Woods walked into a three to make it 89-81, UBC cruised from there, winning 98-84 in the end for their highest-scoring game since opening night.
 
QUOTABLE
TWU Head Coach Trevor Pridie
"Great effort from the guys and some big-time plays from a number of guys. We are knocking on the door just have to learn how to win. The difference between being a great team is so small and we are close. Aris had a coming-out party this weekend over UBC which is super exciting. Thought the whole starting 5 played awesome and David is playing really good basketball on both ends over these last 4 league games against some of the top teams in the country." 
 
"We have to try and figure out how to close out and win a close game which is the last stage for a young upcoming team. Happy with the toughness and effort the guys are playing with. Also really proud of Connor and think he is playing really well right now." 

NOTABLE

• TWU finished the night shooting 41.3 percent (33/80) from the field, 39.3 percent (11/28) from the three-point line, and 87.5 percent (7/8) from the foul line. UBC finished shooting 50.7 percent (38/75), 39.3 percent (11/28), and 61.1 percent (11/18) respectively.
• UBC finished with a 47-41 edge in rebounds, while the Spartans had a 6-4 edge in blocked shots.
• Last season the Spartans split with the Thunderbirds losing 83-74, and winning 96-94 in November 18-19 Langley, B.C.

UP NEXT
The Spartans will now return home to face the Victoria Vikes on January 12-13. Game times are set for 8 p.m. and 6 p.m. Friday's game will be played on the campus of TWU at the David E. Enarson Gym. Both games 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 14 U SPORTS team championships and 34 Canada West team championships.
 
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