The search for their elusive first win of the season continues for the UNBC Timberwolves.
They fell to 0-6 after consecutive weekend U SPORTS Canada West men’s basketball road losses to the University of Regina Cougars.
UNBC lost 100-72 on Saturday, after an 84-64 defeat Friday.
That evened Regina’s record at 3-3.
In the rematch it was still anybody’s game until late in the third quarter, when Regina forward Jamie White sunk consecutive free throws to put the Cougars ahead 48-46. The Regina offence continued to gain traction, outscoring UNBC 29-16 in the third quarter and 30-16 in the fourth quarter, hitting three of four three-point attempts in the final 10.
Overall, the Cougars shot nearly 50 per cent from the field (36-for-73) and connected on 42.9 per cent of their three attempts, while the TWolves went 38.3 per cent of field goals (23-for-60) and had 31.6 per cent accuracy (6-for-19) from three-point range.
Regina also won the turnover battle. They forced their opponents to cough up the ball 19 times and converted that into 27 points. UNBC forced 10 turnovers which led to just five points.
White, a fourth-year veteran from New Brunswick, collected a game-high 29 points, while Ben Kamba had a 27-point game and Arinze Emeka-Anyukwo picked up 17.
Evgeny Baukin, a native of Moscow, Russia, lad the TWolves with 23 points and seven assists. Justin Sunga, who sunk a team-high 29 points Friday, had 18 on Saturday.
The TWolves will try to end their victory drought next Friday at the Northern Sport Centre at Brownridge Court when they host the UBC-Okanagan Heat in the first of a weekend doubleheader that resumes Saturday – their final games heading into the Christmas break.
The UNBC women also lost both their games in Regina.
Maddy Seida and Jade Bellmore each scored 17 points to lift the Cougars to a 91-50 win on Friday. Amrit Manak led the UNBC cause with 12 points, while the TWolves’ Russian connection - Viktoriia Filatova and Sveta Boykova – shot 11 and 10 points respectively. Boykova also had six rebounds.
The Cougars (5-1) lead the Canada West Prairie Division standings.
Regina also won their Thursday afternoon encounter with the TWolves 72-42.
Filatova shot a game-high 18 points in that game.
Halle Tiessen, a second-year forward from Kamloops, came off the UNBC bench and picked up nine rebounds in 13 minutes of game action.
The UNBC women (1-5) will also take on UBC-Okanagan in a two-game set next weekend.
