At Saturday’s annual Courtside festival in War Memorial Gym, the men’s basketball team defeated the University of Calgary Dinos 93–89.
After losing to the Dinos 96–89 the night before, the Thunderbirds were looking for redemption. They came out strong offensively, with Nikola Guzina starting the scoring off after pushing through contact. The team continued to use strategic contact fouls and quickly established a lead they held onto for most of the game.
At the end of the first quarter, T-Bird Kashie Ugoji got a three pointer buzzer beater that made the stands erupt for a 34–22 lead. On the defensive end, the ‘Birds kept close to the Dinos, pushing them right to the end of the shot clock and forcing turnovers.
“I think our defence stepped up a notch. The energy was there. I think we were more aggressive on the offensive end and more aggressive on the defensive end,” said UBC head coach Kevin Hanson after the game. “And our defence led to some buckets going the other way.”
UBC earned 29 defensive rebounds — 13 of which came from captain Tobi Akinkunmi — and they capitalized on fast break points three times more than the Dinos.
The game got tighter in the second quarter, with the Dinos getting more rebounds of their own and trying to turn the tide. But the ‘Birds continued to put on a show for the crowd, with the team driving through traffic for points and Guzina and Akinkunmi dunking points. Calgary went on a nine point run, four of which from Nate Petrone, in the middle of the quarter, but it still fell short as the half ended at 54–51.
In the third, Calgary came out with fire, getting possession and tying the game up and taking the lead for a brief moment after Javier Ramos-Yzquierdo made a good layup. However, Gus Goerzen retook it for the ‘Birds with a three pointer. An Akinkunmi steal and a Fareed Shittu coast-to-coast gave UBC the momentum back and 77–71 at the end of the third.
Petrone put up 12 of the 18 Dinos points in the fourth, hoping for a comeback, but UBC held onto their lead. Both teams went into extra fouls, and while the Dinos capitalized on theirs more than the T-Birds (57 versus 36 per cent respectively), it wasn’t enough to overtake them and UBC handed Calgary their first conference loss, 93–87.
The game also marked Hanson’s 600th career win — a milestone his team was ecstatic about, dumping him in water once photos were taken.
“Having this type of crowd and student body that's out here … it's very exciting for our players to play in front of that,” he said. “It's an exciting environment, obviously, to coach, [it’s a] lifelong memory to have number 600 in front of a big crowd like that and play well, play an entertaining game.”
The Thunderbirds will travel to Kelowna to face the UBCO Heat on November 29 in their last game before the winter break.
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