He might not have been in the starting five, but Zubair Seyed caused the UNBC Timberwolves fits up and the court.
Seyed’s 23-point performance, including a 9-for-12 showing on field goals was more than enough to pace the Fraser Valley Cascades (6-4) to a 88-76 win on Friday at the Northern Sports Centre.
UNBC enjoyed a fast start in the first quarter utilizing big man Spencer Ledoux in the paint, however, it was the Cascades who came out with a 24-16 lead.
In the second quarter, Fraser Valley sliced and diced their way to a bigger lead thanks to some easy layups and key defensive turnovers thanks to the playmaking ability of Vick Toor who found big-man Kyle Claggett on more than one occasion.
After taking a 49-37 lead into halftime, the Cascades blew the game open in the third quarter going up by as much as 24, courtesy of Seyed, Toor and Quesnel product Jordyn Sekohn who also had 19 points and seven rebounds.
After his 19 point, 7 rebound performance in an 88-76 victory, hear from @UFVCascades‘s @jsekhon23 pic.twitter.com/fTgi2auwcj
— UNBC Athletics (@UNBCATHLETICS) January 29, 2022
Despite the sizable deficit, UNBC made a game of it in the fourth quarter ramping up their defensive scheme along with some timely buckets from Vova Pluzhnikov and Tyrell Laing cutting the deficit to ten points.
However, Fraser Valley issued the final dagger in the dying minutes as Jake Willemsen made a big jumper to seal the road victory.
Tyrell Laing had a season-high 29 points in defeat for the Timberwolves who dropped to 4-8.
“We had the heart, but careless turnovers allowed them to get comfortable doing what they do. They push the ball in transition and get a lot of easy looks,” said Laing.
“At the other end, we had to work pretty hard for ours. They were few and far between.”
POSTGAME: Hear from @UNBCBasketball‘s Tyrell Laing after a tough 88-76 loss to the @UFVCascades pic.twitter.com/5L7t8RwG5i
— UNBC Athletics (@UNBCATHLETICS) January 29, 2022
The Cascades went 34-for-71 on field goals (47.9%).
UNBC only held the lead for 1:54.
Both teams play again tonight (Saturday) at 6pm from the Northern Sport Centre.
In women’s action, both games between the Timberwolves and Cascades were postponed due to COVID-19 protocols.
FAREED SHITTU makes his second dunk for @UNBCBasketball at the start of the second quarter !
Score now 20-25 @UFVCascades pic.twitter.com/vIRS3OK1ii
— UNBC Athletics (@UNBCATHLETICS) January 29, 2022
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