When the chips were down, Anthony Tsegaleke and Jahmaal Gardner rose to the occasion for the Brandon Bobcats.
Both players tallied a combined 62 points as the Bobcats outlasted the UNBC Timberwolves 95-89 in the first round of the Canada West men’s basketball playoffs from 1st Choice Savings Centre in Lethbridge.
UNBC utilized their size advantage in the paint, as Fareed Shittu kicked off the game with a thunderous dunk.
However, it was BU who would hold a 16-15 after the first 10 minutes.
Both upped the tempo in the second quarter trading buckets until Tsegaleke cranked it up a notch late, hitting a trey at the buzzer to give the Bobcats a 41-34 lead at halftime.
To begin the second half, fifth-year guards Vova Pluzhnikov and Tyrell Laing woke up in a big way making several three-points to give the T-Wolves a 65-59 edge after three quarters.
The inbounds play!!
We have a dooooozy happening in Lethbridge pic.twitter.com/74Mu8ta45v
— UNBC Athletics (@UNBCATHLETICS) March 4, 2022
UNBC and Brandon continued to go punch for punch deep into the fourth quarter.
However, the Bobcats got the upper hand grabbing three offensive rebounds on the same possession before Gardner buried another three-pointer giving the Manitoba rivals a two bucket lead.
“It looked like a team that didn’t want to go home,” said BU coach Gil Cheung.
“It has been a long couple years. But we got enough stops, and the leadership of Gardner and Tsegakele were amazing. They committed to getting stops. As a coach, you’re proud because they didn’t pack it in. UNBC made a big run and we hung in there and got it done.”
In his final Canada West game, Laing netted 26 points on 9-for-14 shooting, adding eight boards and four assists. Shittu went for 23 points in his first career playoff game, while Pluzhnikov had 20 points and seven rebounds.
The loss also meant a final curtain call for Payton Tirrell, Rohtash Mattu and Pluzhnikov.
“They play with a lot of waves of energy,” said UNBC coach Todd Jordan, of the Bobcats.
“They’ll go cold for a bit and then all of a sudden they’re flying around and playing with a ton of energy. They got to the glass a ton, and that was the difference. Tsegakele was a monster on the glass, and it really hurt us.”
POSTGAME: Hear from @UNBCBasketball Head Coach Todd Jordan after the TWolves’ 95-89 loss to the @BUBobcats pic.twitter.com/YYTxXueJgR
— UNBC Athletics (@UNBCATHLETICS) March 4, 2022
With the victory, Brandon will move on to play the Saskatchewan Huskies on Friday.
The Timberwolves women’s basketball team tips off against the Bobcats Friday at 4 p.m. Pacific Time from Mount Royal University in Calgary.
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