Mason Bouricer tried to put the Trinity Western Spartans on his back but in the end it wasn’t enough.
A stellar 37-point effort from the fifth-year playmaker fell short as the UNBC Timberwolves rebounded on home court with a 85-69 victory on Saturday at the Northern Sports Centre.
The trio of Spencer Ledoux, Fareed Shittu and Darren Hunter combined for 56 points as the T-Wolves finished the opening weekend at 1-1.
Big Game Hunter!
Hear from the @UNBCMBB guard after a big win over the @TWUSpartans! pic.twitter.com/6SQ2fiMpA6
— UNBC Athletics (@UNBCATHLETICS) November 6, 2022
UNBC enjoyed a profitable night offensively, converting on 47% of their field goals while out rebounding Trinity Western 52-39.
Shittu, Chris Ross and Micah Jessie all finished the contest with 10 or more boards.
On the other hand, Josh Belvin was the only other Spartan to reach double-digit points (10).
Hear postgame from Mason Bourcier about his 37 points, what he liked about the @TWUSpartans game, and the defense of @UNBCMBB captain Chris Ross pic.twitter.com/PTjxaEgtXQ
— UNBC Athletics (@UNBCATHLETICS) November 6, 2022
The Timberwolves never trailed in the game, a reversal of fortunes from Friday’s 85-68 defeat where they were unable to find themselves on the right side of the scoreboard.
In Friday’s loss, six Trinity Western players ended up with double-digit points. They were Bourcier, Belvin, Tre Filmore, Connor Platz, Vlad Mhalia and David Mutabazi.
The Spartans were also much more efficient, going 35-for-77 on field goals and also grossly outsourcing UNBC’s bench by a 31-5 margin.
In women’s action, the Timberwolves begin the campaign with an 0-2 mark after dropping a pair of close but sloppy losses against the Spartans.
A 65-58 setback on Friday was followed up by a 64-54 defeat tonight (Saturday).
UNBC found a way to shut down Trinity Western big Nicole Fransson, but they had no answer for guard Jayden Gill who was the top scorer each game for the Spartans posting a combined 38 points over the weekend.
Fifth-year Russian Alina Shakirova led the Timberwolves in points in both games as well.
The Timberwolves missed a combined 13 free throws over the course of the two games.
Both UNBC basketball teams head to Vancouver to play the UBC Thunderbirds Saturday and Sunday.
First career start, career high in minutes & points, and a great postgame interview from @UNBCWomensBball guard Jenna Korolek pic.twitter.com/zltLHmoCgA
— UNBC Athletics (@UNBCATHLETICS) November 5, 2022
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