It was one of those games where it came down to the final posessions and for the Thompson Rivers Wolfpack, free throws proved to be the savng grace on the road.
A night after falling 90-81 to the UNBC Timberwolves at the Northern Sports Centre, TRU won an 82-78 overtime decision to split the weekend set in Canada West men’s basketball from Prince George.
The contest saw both teams ride momentum, lose it, and then rediscover some form of offense to make it even more interesting.
No one was more clutch than Wolfpack guard Anton Bilous who recorded 26 points and 10 rebounds off the bench.
“I was just staying the course playing our game and the system, you know my teammates were able to give me a lot of good looks and I was able to knock them down.”
For the Timberwolves, Vova Pluzhinkov never came off the floor, resulting in a team-high 22 points including 8-for-17 on field goals.
However, the product from Ukraine felt UNBC had too many breakdowns defensively, which prevented them from winning.
“We could have been more consistent with our defense, we have to work on it and get louder in our communication.”
A three-point shot from Jovan Leamy forced the game into overtime pushing it to a then 70-70 score.
UNBC held leads of 37-35 and 52-50 but were unable to close the deal.
TRU improves to 5-7, while the Timberwolves drop to 7-5.
In women’s action, UNBC cruisded to a 79-49 rom over the Wolfpack, upping their mark to 8-4 on the season.
Alina Shakirova continued her offensive magic with a 19-point outing, matching teammate Vasiliki Louka who also pitched in with 19 of her own along with 10 rebounds.
The T-Wolves wanted to adopt more of a killer instinct coming out of the holiday break after learning a hard lesson last season.
“Last year we won the by the same amount and then the next night we ended up losing so we thought oh no and decided we can’t let that happen so I think we learned from our mistakes and kept the peddle on the gas the whole time,” said Madison Landry, UNBC Forward.
Landry ended the night with 15 points. Michelle Bos had 14 points in defeat for the Wolfpack who went 16-for-62 on field goals, while UNBC was 32-for-70.
Both varsity teams return home next Friday and Saturday to host the Manitoba Bisons.
Something going on in the Prince George area you think people should know about?
Send us a news tip by emailing [email protected].
