LANGLEY, British Columbia– Led by fourth-year guard David Mutabazi's (Delta, B.C.) double-double of 28 points and 16 rebounds, and fifth-year guard Josh Belvins' (Long Beach, Calf.) 24 points the Trinity Western Spartans overcame a 10-point third-quarter deficit to defeat the UBC Okanagan Heat 98-87 Thursday night at the Langley Events Centre in Langley, B.C. The win moves the Spartans back to .500 at 7-7, while the loss drops the Heat to 4-9.
 
Fifth-year Jerric Palma (Richmond, B.C.) added 17 points, and four steals, and third-year guard Marcus Shankar (Campbell River, B.C.) added 14 points to the Spartan win. Gavin Ashworth with 21 points, Jalen Shirley with 19 points, six rebounds, and five assists, and Lamine Conde with 15 points, and five rebounds led the Heat.
 
UP NEXT
The Spartans will continue their home stand next week when they host the UBC Thunderbirds on January 31, and February 1. Game time at the Langley Events Centre is 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 start of the game was a bit worrisome. We just didn't have the effort that we needed or the level of focus and execution at both ends of the floor. We just had a lot of really sloppy mistakes and we just weren't sharp to start the game. We've had a few quarters like that, so we have to find a way to fix it and clean it up. But, the good news is we were able to find our game in the second half and were able to put together a really good fourth quarter to get the win. We also have to do a better job of rebounding and limiting shots. We can't give a team 15 more shots than us. It's really hard to win games like that.
 
On Jerric's scoring Mutabazi's play.
 
David was phenomenal tonight, what a game by him. He was just dominant the whole game in every aspect of the game. It was just unbelievable, I'm so proud of him. He's had a bit of a lesser role this year, with us having so many offensive pieces and so much depth. So I'm super happy for David.
 
On Jerric's scoring 1,500 points.
It is a huge accomplishment for him. That is a lot of points to score in U SPORTS. So we are really happy for him and really proud of him. Obviously, he scored a lot with Western, but really cool that he can get his 1500 here with us. He's a great kid, a super hard worker, super skilled, and he's probably had one of the better careers, which he did in a very unassuming way. I just don't think people were expecting that from him. "
 
 
AS IT HAPPENED
The Spartans and Heat were even early on to start the game with UBC Okanagan leading 16-13 five minutes in. The second five minutes of the quarter the Heat were able to control the scoring as they used a 16-8 run to take an 11-point, 32-21 lead after the opening quarter. The Spartans had a strong start to the second quarter, and after a Marcus Shankar jumper had made it a one-point, 33-34, game. The Heat quickly responded with a 14-3 run to take a 12-point lead, 47-35 after a Lamine Conde layup with 4:24 remaining in the half. TWU would cut the deficit slightly to trail by nine points, 54-45 at the end of the first half.
 
The third quarter was mostly the two teams exchanging baskets as TWU still trailed by 10 points, 66-56 with three minutes left in the quarter. The final three minutes of the quarter were all TWU. And after a buzzer beater by Palma, after a Belvin steal, the Spartans had made it a possession game with TWU trailing by two points, 72-70, to cap at 14-6 run. The Spartans continued their strong play to start the fourth quarter as second-year guard Tyler Sipma (Lynden, Wash.) layup gave TWU a nine-point 88-79 lead with just over four minutes remaining, to cap an 18-7 run. The Spartans never looked back as they outscored the Heat 28-15 to earn the 11-point win, 98-87.
 
NOTABLE 

• The Spartans finished the night shooting 54.9 percent (39-71) from the field, 42.9 percent (6-14) from the three-point line, and 73.7 percent (14-19) from the foul line. While the Heat shot 38.4 percent (33-86), 37.1 percent (13-35), and 61.5 percent (8-13) respectively.
• The Heat had a 50-40 edge in rebounding.
• TWU had a 12-4 edge in steals. The Spartans had nine turnovers to the Heats 12.
• The Spartans are in third spot in the Canada West Pacific Division at 6-7, while the Heat are in sixth place in Pacific at 4-8.
• TWU spilt with the UBC Okanagan in their first two games of the season in Kelowna, B.C. Losing 63-53 on November 15 and winning 83-73 on November 16.
• The Spartans are currently 16-6 lifetime against the Heat.
• Last week the Spartans swept their northern BC road trip, winning 87-78 over the Thompson Rivers WolfPack and 75-57 over the UNBC Timberwolves.
• Last week the Heat split with the Alberta Golden Bears in Edmonton, Alta. winning 69-68 and losing 82-65.
• David Mutabazi is currently at 998 total U SPORTS points overall in 66 games.
• Included in Palma's 17 points was his 1,500 point of his U SPORTS career, which he scored to make the score 58-51 for UBC O.

 
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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