The top guns of the UNBC Timberwolves men’s basketball team proved to be too much for the second consecutive night for the Trinity Western Spartans.
A 20-point effort from Jovan Lemay propelled UNBC to a 92-83 win on Saturday from the Northern Sport Centre, earning them a 5-1 record to begin the season.
The fifth-year player from Toronto, Ontario along with James Agyeman, Vova Pluzhnikov, and Tyrell Laing put up a combined 66 points on the evening.
Laing, a local product from PGSS, was pleased to see the Timberwolves come out with the same hunger they showed in Friday’s 101-58 whitewash over the Spartans.
“I think it was really important. We came out with a similar intensity but Trinity fought back, we had to fight them off but I think we did a good job of that.”
UNBC also enjoyed the benefit of going deeper into their bench due to some sizeable leads, allowing freshmen like Chris Ross, Colburn Pearce and Kaelan McNeight to enjoy some increased minutes.
“Our young guys gave us a lot of energy and we got a big spark off our bench that led to runs, which helped us win the game.”
UNBC now heads out on the road for the next four games making stops against the Fraser Valley Cascades (4-4) and the Saskatchewan Huskies (4-4).
Laing believes the early momentum they have built is key as the upcoming games will be a much stiffer test.
“We want to make a deep playoff push so these next few weeks are crucial for our success moving forward and we’re going to use this weekend as building blocks for that.”
The Timberwolves are third in the Canada West conference only behind the Calgary Dinos and the UBC Thunderbirds.
Following the completion of Friday’s game, Vaggelis Loukas became UNBC’s all-time leading rebounder surpassing Dennis Stark.
In women’s action, it was a much more dominant effort from the Timberwolves coasting to a 83-54 victory over Trinity Western.
Maria Mongomo recorded a game-high 29 points for UNBC while Vasiliki Louka posted a double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds.
“We talked about starting strong today, and I’m glad I could contribute to that” said Mongomo. “I think I can do better though.”
Former Timberwolf and Prince George product Sarah Buckingham led the Spartans with 17 points who now drop to 6-2 on the season.
UNBC is at the top of the women’s basketball standings with a perfect 6-0 record and will also head to Fraser Valley (3-5) and Saskatchewan (6-2) the next two weekends to wrap up the pre-Christmas slate of games.