VANCOUVER, British Columbia – Fifth-year guard
Tyus DeVries (Chilliwack, B.C.) finished with 29 points and 11 rebounds, but the Trinity Western Spartans fell 79-76 to the U SPORTS No. 6 UBC Thunderbirds in their Canada West men's basketball season opener Thursday night at War Memorial Gym in Vancouver, B.C. TWU had a chance to force overtime in the final seconds, but DeVries' half-court three-point attempt missed as the Spartans opened conference play at 0-1 and UBC improved to 1-0.
Fifth-year guard
Marcus Shankar (Campbell River, B.C.) added 19 points on 9-for-16 shooting, including 12 points in the first half. Fourth-year guard
Jack Vandenberg (Vancouver, B.C.) finished with 12 points and five assists, hitting four three-pointers, including three in the fourth quarter. DeVries added three assists and three steals while scoring 19 of his points after halftime.
Nylan Roberts led the Thunderbirds with 25 points and 15 rebounds. Edouard Gauthier added 12 points and four assists, while Roko Maric finished with nine points and four rebounds. UBC led by no more than seven points in a game that featured 13 lead changes.
UP NEXT
The Spartans return to Langley for their Canada West home opener against the U SPORTS No. 1 Victoria Vikes on Saturday, October 31, at the Langley Events Centre in Langley, B.C. Game time is set for 6 p.m. (PT) and can be seen live on CanadaWest.TV.
QUOTABLE
Trevor Pridie, TWU Head Coach
"Tough one to let slip, especially on the road against a very good UBC team. A barn burner to open the year shows the group has fight. To beat a top-ranked team in the country on the road, we need to play our A game. We didn't shoot well and made a few mistakes."
"Tyus carried the load, Marcus had a great first half, and Jack came up big late."
AS IT HAPPENED
DeVries opened the scoring with a layup, but UBC connected on four three-pointers in the opening quarter to build a 12-6 lead. Shankar scored eight straight TWU points to keep the Spartans close, including a layup that cut the deficit to 14-12 with 2:15 remaining. The Thunderbirds took a 16-12 lead into the second quarter as TWU went 0-for-7 from beyond the arc.
UBC extended its lead to seven points, 21-14, early in the second quarter before TWU answered with an 8-0 run. Third-year forward
Caleb Gremaud (Kamloops, B.C.), DeVries, fourth-year guard
Pearse Long (Temecula, Calif.) and Shankar each scored inside as the Spartans moved ahead 22-21. A Vandenberg three-pointer later gave TWU a 25-23 advantage, and two free throws from second-year guard
Logan Stewart (Langley, B.C.) put the Spartans ahead 28-27 with 3:53 remaining. The Thunderbirds responded with a 10-2 run before Stewart's tip-in and a DeVries jumper helped TWU close to 38-34 at halftime.
The Thunderbirds opened the second half with a Roberts three-pointer, but TWU battled back to tie the game 42-42 on a Gremaud layup. DeVries connected from beyond the arc to give the Spartans a 47-46 lead with 6:19 remaining, and baskets from Shankar and DeVries helped TWU maintain a three-point edge. UBC scored the final seven points of the quarter, including two late Frank Linder layups, to take a 57-53 lead into the final 10 minutes. DeVries scored nine points in the quarter, while Shankar added seven.
TWU erased a six-point deficit early in the fourth quarter, with a Vandenberg three-pointer and a DeVries jumper putting the Spartans ahead 60-59. DeVries later connected from beyond the arc to give TWU a 65-63 lead with 6:24 remaining, but three consecutive UBC three-pointers produced a 9-0 run and a 72-65 advantage. Vandenberg answered with back-to-back threes 23 seconds apart to bring TWU within one, 72-71, with 3:30 to play. The Spartans cut the deficit to one twice more before a Raj Dhadda three-pointer gave UBC a 78-74 lead with 1:34 remaining. DeVries scored with 1:04 left to make it 78-76, but TWU could not pull even. A late offensive foul gave possession back to UBC, and Roberts made one free throw with two seconds remaining before DeVries' final three-point attempt missed.
NOTABLE
- The Spartans shot 41.3 percent (31-75) from the field, 22.6 percent (7-31) from the three-point line and 58.3 percent (7-12) from the foul line. UBC shot 37.8 percent (28-74), 29.7 percent (11-37) and 60 percent (12-20), respectively.
- UBC held a 40-35 advantage in rebounds, including a 16-10 edge on the offensive glass, and led 20-17 in second-chance points.
- TWU outscored UBC 44-30 in points in the paint and 10-2 in fast-break points. The Spartans held a 15-8 advantage in points off turnovers, with both teams committing 14 turnovers.
- DeVries and Vandenberg combined for 19 of TWU's 23 fourth-quarter points. Vandenberg went 3-for-4 from beyond the arc in the final quarter.
- DeVries' 27 field-goal attempts tied for fourth-most in a game in TWU's conference and overall record books.
- Gremaud finished with seven points, six rebounds and two blocks. Stewart added seven points and three rebounds, while Long collected eight rebounds.
- The loss moves Trinity Western's all-time overall record against UBC to 16-66, including a 12-56 record in Canada West regular season meetings. The Thunderbirds have won the teams' last five meetings.
- The Spartans were picked ninth in the Canada West preseason coaches' poll, while UBC was ranked third.
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 and women's and men's disc golf. Since TWU entered U SPORTS in 1999, the Spartans have won 15 U SPORTS team championships and 35 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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