LANGLEY, British Columbia – The Trinity Western had four players in double-digit scoring as the Spartans defeated the UNBC Timberwolves 80-69 Saturday night at the Langley Events Centre in Langley, B.C. The victory improves the Spartans to 4-14, while the loss drops the Timberwolves to 8-10. The weekend sweep is the first of the season for the Spartans.

Third-year guard David Mutabazi (Delta, B.C.) with 21 points, four steals, and four rebounds, first-year guard Tyler Sipma (Lynden, Wash.) with 19 points, and three rebounds, third-year centre Connor Platz (Langley, B.C.) with a double-double of 10 points and 18 rebounds, and fourth-year guard Vlad Mhaila (Surrey, B.C.) with 10 points, five rebounds, and three assists all hit double-digits in scoring for the Spartans. Josh Gillespie with 15 points, Daren Hunter with 14 points, seven assists, and five rebounds, and Evgeny Baukin with a double-double of 13 points, and 11 rebounds led the Timberwolves.

AS IT HAPPENED
The two teams were evenly matched for the majority of the first half. TWU had a 15-11 lead after the first 10 minutes, but UNBC started the second quarter with an 11-7 run to tie the game at 22-22 with five minutes to go in the half. At the half-time buzzer, the Spartans held a one-point, 32-31 lead.
 
The Spartans were the better team in the third quarter. Led by Mutabazi, TWU outscored UNBC 19-13 to take a 51-44 lead going into the final 10 minutes of play. In the fourth quarter the Spartans Sipma caught fire and after three straight three-pointers had given TWU a 17-point, 66-49, lead with 6:10 to go in the game. A bucket by Platz and an old-fashioned three-point play by Mutabazi, after a steal by rookie guard Gabriel Vig (Abbotsford, B.C.) gave TWU 20 20-point lead, 74-54, with 3:54 remaining. UNBC closed slightly as TWU enjoyed the 11-point win on seniors' night.
 
QUOTABLE
TWU Head Coach Trevor Pridie
"It's awesome to have a weekend sweep. It was so cool for the seniors to have their moments out there tonight and I thought that they all played really well. It was an amazing atmosphere out here tonight. It was a really good weekend for us. I thought that we shot the ball really well, and we limited turnover, which has been two of our issues this year. Tonight shows what we can do if we shoot a reasonable number from the three and don't turn the ball over 20 plus times."
 
"Connor had a monster weekend, so super happy for him. Tyler had a really special night and one of those special moments that don't happen very often. And it was nice to see after he has been out for a while. And it was cool for Gabe to have his moment. He has been awesome this year and worked hard and been a great teammate. He is going to be a really great player."
 
"I love having the MEI band in the gym, those kids are amazing, and they just make it so much better having them in the gym."
 
"It was one of those feel good weekends, when everyone comes together and everyone gets to play. A bit bitter sweet, since we aren't going to play-offs, but fun to get a sweep and build and no we have one more weekend and we will treat it like it is our play-offs and hope to get another sweep."

NOTABLE

• The Spartans shot 38.9 percent (28/72) from the field, 34.5 percent (10/29)from the three-point line, and 77.8 percent (14/18) from the foul line. The Timberwolves shot 31.6 percent (25/79), 29.4 percent (10/34), and 45 percent (9/20) respectively.
• UNBC had the edge in rebounds 57-46.
• The Spartans finished with 12 assists to the Timberwolves 17.
• UNBC had a 6-5 edge in blocked shots.
• Platz's 18 rebounds is the second most in TWU history. Tyrell Mara '11 had 21 against Brandon on February 4, 2011.
• The Spartans defeated the Timberwolves 97-90 Friday night.
• The Spartans are 6-13 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 will finish off the Canada West regular season next week at the UFV Cascades on February 9-10 at the UFV Athletic Centre in Abbotsford, B.C. Game times are 8 p.m. and 7 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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