KELOWNA, British Columbia – The Trinity Western Spartans got a weekend split and their first win of the season with a solid 83-73 victory over the UBC Okanagan Heat Saturday evening at the UBC Okanagan Gym in Kelowna, B.C. The win moves the Spartans to 1-5 in conference play, while the loss drops the Heat to 2-4.
The Spartans had a strong start and had a comfortable 19-point, 43-24, lead at halftime. UBC Okanagan had a strong second half, but the Spartans were able to hold on for their first win of the season.
Fourth-year guard
David Mutabazi (Delta, B.C.) with a double-double of 22 points, 10 rebounds, and seven assists, fifth-year guard
Jerric Palma (Richmond, B.C.) with 20 points, and third-year guard
Marcus Shankar (Campbell River, B.C.) with 17 points, and six rebounds led the Spartans. Jas Dhudwal with 15 points, and 16 rebounds, Gavin Ashworth with 13 points, and DJ Frye with 12 points led the Heat.
UP NEXT
The Spartans will return home to host the Thompson Rivers WolfPack at the Langley Events Centre on November 22-23. Game times are set for 8 p.m. (PT) and 6 p.m. (PT) and can be seen live on Canada West TV.
QUOTABLE
TWU head coach Trevor Pridie
"The monkey that's been on our back for the last three weeks is finally off. David had a near triple-double and Marcus was just a stud offensively and defensively. Jerric was scoring well for us and he provided the leadership we needed. We still have a lot of work to do to find our consistency, but this was a great game to build off of. We have shown some flashes of what we can do, but we finally found a way to close a game out and get a win."
NOTABLE
- The Spartans finished the game shooting 44.8 percent (30-67) from the field, 35.5 percent (11-31) from the three-point line, and 85.7 percent (12-14) from the free throw line. While the Heat shot 45.3 percent (29-64) from the field, 39.1 percent (9-23) from the three-point line, and 66.7 percent (6-9) from the free-throw line.
- TWU outrebounded UBCO 40-34.
- TWU had 13 turnovers to UBCO's 20. With the Spartans having 10 steals to the Heat's six.
- TWU lost 63-53 Friday night against the Heat in Kelowna.
- TWU is currently 15-6 lifetime against UBC Okanagan. Last season the Spartans swept the Heat, winning 94-91, and 74-61 in Langley, B.C.
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.
About Trinity Western University
Recognized for quality, TWU has received seven consecutive A+ rankings for Quality of Teaching and Learning, holds three Canada Research Chairs, and wins national championships in U SPORTS. More importantly, lives are changed at TWU through its whole-person, Christ-centred approach to education. With a wide array of undergraduate, graduate, and adult degree-completion programs, TWU equips leaders of character and competence to make a positive impact in the lives of others.
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