The mountain was too steep for the Timberwolves men's basketball team to climb last night (Feb. 8) in Abbotsford.
It was a first-round matchup for UNBC, the 11th seed in Canada West, taking on the fifth seed in the conference, the University of the Fraser Valley Cascades, who showed why they were seeded near the top, eliminating the T-Wolves with a score of 67-59.
The Timberwolves had a strong start, grabbing an 8-2 lead in the early minutes and sustained the pressure, ending up with a 17-10 lead after the first quarter.
They also had a strong second quarter, shooting well and heading into halftime up 38-26.
UFV came storming back after the break and would take their first lead of the game with strong shooting from Vick Toor and Sukhman Sadhu and cut the Timberwolves lead down to one, 49-48, after the third quarter.
The Cascades would own the fourth quarter, capped off by a Sadhu three-point dagger to put the home side up by seven in the final minute, killing any hopes of a UNBC comeback.
“They came out with a lot of energy, and beat us to a lot of the fifty-fifty stuff, “UNBC coach Todd Jordan says in a news release. “We got into some stretches where the ball stuck in our hands and didn’t move, and we lost our momentum. We were fighting uphill the rest of the way.”
Sadhu was the leading scorer for UFV, dropping 18 points including four three-pointers while Parm Bains added 16 points of his own in the win.
Jovan Leamy was the leader for UNBC on the night with 15 points and eight rebounds in his final game in a UNBC Timberwolves jersey.
“This is the first time in our history we have consecutively made playoffs, which is big for our program,” Jordan adds. “We will miss our senior guys who worked really hard. They have all had important roles for our program. I am proud of our guys.”
VIDEO: After a tough 67-59 @CanadaWest playoff defeat at the hands of the @UFVCascades, the @UNBCBasketball team wraps up a historic season. Hear from @UNBC coach Todd Jordan about his team, his graduating seniors, and continuing to grow the program. #gotwolves pic.twitter.com/76kmZF9WXj
— UNBC Athletics (@UNBCATHLETICS) February 8, 2019
It was also the final game for UNBC seniors James Agyeman, Vaggelis Loukas, and Austin Chandler.
The women will look to advance tonight (Feb. 8) in Canada West playoffs when they take on the Trinity Western Spartans at 7 p.m. in Langley.
