LANGLEY, British Columbia – Third-year centre Connor Platz (Langley, B.C.) recorded his first career triple-double to lead the Trinity Western Spartans to a 97-90 victory over the UNBC Timberwolves Friday night at the Langley Events Centre in Langley, B.C. The victory improves the Spartans to 3-14, while the loss drops the Timberwolves to 8-9. Platz finished the night with 13 points, 11 rebounds, 10 assists, and seven blocked shots, just three away from a quadruple-double, something that has never been done before in Canada West history.

Fourth-year guard Josh Belvin (Long Beach, Calf.) with 21 points, and nine rebounds, fourth-year guard Vlad Mhaila (Surrey, B.C.) with 21 points, and third-year guard David Mutabazi (Surrey, B.C.) with 20 points, and four rebounds all hit the 20-point mark for the Spartans. Spencer Ledoux with 27 points, seven rebounds, and seven blocked shots, and Evgeny Baukin and Josh Gillespie with 16 points, and five rebounds each led the WolfPack.

AS IT HAPPENED
The two teams were evenly matched in a high-scoring first quarter. The Timberwolves started a little better than the Spartans and held a two-point, 31-29, lead after 10 minutes.
 
TWU came out strong to start the second quarter and five minutes in had used a 10-4 run to take a four-point lead. From there the Spartans exchanged baskets as TWU went into the break with a 48-44 lead after Mhaila hit a three-pointer at the buzzer.
 
Out of the half, the teams were once again evenly matched. TWU was able to maintain their lead for the entire quarter. It looked like it was going to be a three-point lead heading into the final quarter, but again Mhaila was there at the buzzer to give the Spartans a 66-60 after 30 minutes of play.
 
The Spartans looked like they had the game well in hand when Belvin scored on a lay-up to give TWU a nine-point, 89-80 lead with 2:17 remaining in the game. But the Timberwolves pushed back and scored seven straight points, including a three-pointer from Justin Sunga with 1:10 remaining to make it a one-possession game with TWU leading 89-87. Mihaila made it a four-point game with a lay-up with :50 seconds remaining and forced UNBC to foul TWU players down the stretch. The Spartans finished the night six-for-six to seal the seven-point, 97-90 win.
 
QUOTABLE
TWU Head Coach Trevor Pridie
"It was a great game from our bench. They were awesome. Vlad had a massive game and Mitch hit two big threes. That was one of the better bench production games that we've had, which is great because we needed it. Offensively I think we're playing well right now. I'm happy for Connor to get a triple-double and to be close to a quadruple-double – obviously a huge night for him. We had three guys over 20 points and we almost hit 100, so we had a balanced night scoring. We just need to figure out a few things defensively. Hopefully, as we build to next year, we can sharpen up our defence and keep building on our offence. We needed a win tonight and the guys the guys found a way. Now, it's about building for next year. That's the name of the game for us and we'll look to continue to do that tomorrow night."
 
NOTABLE

• The Spartans shot 52.2 percent (35/67) from the field, 52.9 percent from the three-point line (9/17), and 81.8 percent from the foul line (18/22). The Timberwolves shot 45.6 percent (36/89), 25.7 percent (9/35), and 81.8 percent (9/11) respectively.
• TWU had the edge in rebounds 42-35.
• The Spartans finished with 23 assists to the Timberwolves 19.
• TWU had a 9-7 edge in blocked shots.
• Platz becomes on the second Spartan to record a triple-double in conference play, joining former Spartan Mason Bourcier '23. Bourcier holds the U SPORTS record with five career triple-doubles in conference play.
• In conference play and postseason play Bourcier has eight total triple-doubles. Former Spartan Ja 'Qualyn Gilbreath '22 also has a triple-double in CW postseason play.
• Last week the Spartans were swept the Mount Royal Cougars, losing 95-77, and 93-81 in Langley, B.C.
• Last week UNBC split with the TRU WolfPack, winning 69-67 in OT, and losing 69-63 in Prince George, B.C.
• The Spartans are 5-13 lifetime against the Timberwolves.
• In preseason play this season the Spartans lost 65-39 to the Cougars on October 13.
• The last time the Spartans defeated the Timberwolves was 85-68. November 4, 2022.
• TWU has won three of the last six games with UNBC.

 
UP NEXT
The Spartans and Timberwolves will finish the two-game series Saturday night at the Langley Events Centre. Game time is at 6 p.m. and can be seen live on Canada West 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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