Two teams at opposite ends of the U SPORTS Canada West men’s basketball spectrum met Saturday night at the Northern Sport Centre’s Brownridge Court with predictable results.
The UNBC Timberwolves (1-19) took it on the chin in a 96-58 loss to the UBC Thunderbirds (15-5). Four different T-birds finished with 15-or-more points led by Victor Radocaj who finished with 19.
On the other side, Isaiah Bias led UNBC with 17 while Milan Pasquale netted a new career high of 15 points. But the story of the night for UNBC was Josh Gillespie who wrapped up his two-year tenure at UNBC with a 10-point, nine-rebound effort.
On a night where Gillespie was honoured as the lone departing UNBC Timberwolf, the former Idaho Dynamo wasted little time in making an impact. He recorded the first points of the night for UNBC and would later add a second bucket and four rebounds as the TWolves led 21-17 after one. First-year guard Pasquale was feeling it early from deep as he nailed three from beyond the arc on his way to a nine-point quarter.
UBC bounced back in a big way in the second quarter, outscoring UNBC 29-13. The main catalyst for the T-Birds turnaround was Radocaj who shot four-for-five in the second quarter and also pulled down four rebounds. Tobi Akinkunmi supplied five to the UBC cause while UNBC’s top second-quarter scorer was Gillespie with six.
The T-birds increased their lead by seven in the third thanks to a 25-18 swing. Adam Olsen got hot as he doubled his point output going from eight at the half to 16 through three. Radocaj added six more, giving him 15 after three. For UNBC Isaiah Bias poured in seven, giving him a team-high 15 through three. Bias had also secured seven rebounds through three quarters, putting him second only behind Gillespie’s eight.
In the fourth quarter, former Timberwolf Fareed Shittu and Brendan Sullivan combined for 17 of UBC’s 25 points, while Bias, Pasquale and Wesley Ainu’u had the offensive response for UNBC.
The biggest ovation of the fourth came with under two minutes remaining when Gillespie left the floor to a deservedly loud ovation from the Timberwolves faithful.
UBC women cap regular season with 79-53 win over TWolves
Earlier Saturday, the UNBC women (4-16) finished off the 2024-25 campaign with their seventh straight loss a 79-53 defeat at the hands of the UBC Thunderbirds (16-2) on a night when graduating T-wolves Sveta Boykova, Sarah Kuklisin, Bella Mesquita and Adaiah Tupas-Singh called it a career.
Keira Daly and Olivia Weekes each finished with 13 points for the T-Birds while Daly finished as their top rebounder with seven. Boykova racked up a double-double with 23 points and 14 rebounds to lead the way for the hosts while Viktoriia Filatova finished with 12 points.
The visitors from Vancouver held a slim 14-12 lead after one, despite trailing for a majority of the quarter. UNBC led for nearly five full minutes thanks to some well-rounded scoring. Boykova, Filatova, Kuklisin, Amrit Manak and Brynn Dergousoff all had first-quarter points for the hosts. UBC countered with six from Mona Berlitz and four from Weekes. The top rebounder in the opening quarter was Boykova with five.
UBC pushed its lead to eight thanks to a 22-14 edge in the second quarter and they led 36-26 at the half.
In the third, UBC outscored UNBC 16-13. Sara Toneguzzi poured in four while Emily Martindale and Cerys Merton each registered three. Boykova officially arrived at double-double status in the third when she scored four more points and pulling down three rebounds.
The Thunderbirds outscored UNBC 27-14 in the final quarter.
The highlight for UNBC and their fans in the stands came with just over two minutes left. Head coach Sergey Shchepotkin called a timeout and subbed out all four graduates: Mesquita, Kuklisin, Tupas-Singh and Boykova. The four longstanding teammates left the floor together to a rousing ovation, officially putting to an end the basketball chapter of their time at UNBC.
