UBC Thunderbirds Advance to Canada West Quarterfinal After a 103-87 Victory Over Mount Royal
February 17, 2023
EDMONTON - Friday afternoon in Edmonton, AB the UBC Thunderbirds punched their ticket to the Canada West quarterfinals after posting a 103-87 victory over the Mount Royal Cougars. UBC captain Brian Wallack led the charge with a team-high 24 points (10/14 FG) and 11 rebounds. Tobi Akinkumni chimed in with a career-best 23 points (7/11 FG, 3/6 3PT) and three other Thunderbirds finished in double figures offensively. The Cougars responded with a career-best 35 point, 10 rebound performance from Keivonte Watts. Holt Tomie added 22 points for the Cougars, 11 of which came from the free-throw line.
"We really rallied together. Our energy today was good defensively and offensively we set the tone in the first quarter," remarked UBC Thunderbirds head coach Kevin Hanson.
"Rebound really killed us. We weren't able to secure enough defensive boards," said MRU Cougars head coach Marc Dobell. "We allowed them to get off to a hot start and we had trouble defensively."
Both teams roared out of the gates with UBC nailing their first three shots and the Cougars countering with two straight makes of their own. Eight of the first 21 points for UBC belonged to guard Luka Lizdek who drilled a pair of threes and was successful on each of his first three shooting attempts. Second-year guard Tobi Akinkunmi was a perfect four-for-four in the opening quarter for the 'Birds and finished with 11 points. Not to be outdone was MRU third-year guard Keivonte Watts who notched 13 of Mount Royal's 19 first quarter points. All four of Watts' field goals came from beyond the arc. UBC outrebounded MRU 12-4 in the first 10 minutes, and took a 30-19 advantage into the second quarter.
"Tobi Akinkunmi had a great game. He did good things at both ends of the floor and sparked us with his energy and one of his best games that he's played for us," added Kevin Hanson. "Then it was huge for us to have Brian Wallack back. He was unstoppable today with 24 points and 11 rebounds in 21 minutes. The whole team got a big boost from those two players."
Mount Royal responded well in the second quarter, outscoring UBC by a 23-22 margin. But the first two minutes of the second quarter were a defensive struggle as the two teams combined for only five points in the first minute and 57 seconds of play. A Brian Wallack slam dunk with 6:34 remaining in the second gave UBC a 19-point advantage - their largest lead of the first half. But MRU responded with a dunk of their own courtesy of Sam Barnie. Keivonte Watts then buried his fifth trey of the day to give him three of his nine second quarter points. With 55 seconds left, Aaron Fernades nailed a three, moving MRU to within eight points. But credit the 'Birds who kept the Cougars at a healthy arm's length. Brian Wallack paced the UBC attack with nine second quarter points, and Tobi Akinkunmi went into the halftime break with 18 points, which already matched his previous single-game high for points (Feb. 11, 2022 at Victoria). UBC held a 52-42 lead halfway through the afternoon.
Through three quarters, Kevin Hanson's team had extended their lead to 20 points after outscoring Mount Royal 30-20. Tobi Akinkunmi supplied five of the first eight points for UBC, helping him secure a new single-game career high. UBC continued to lean on Brian Wallack who supplied 11 third quarter points, eight of which were in the paint. Holt Tomie and Keivonte Watts combined for 14 of the 20 MRU third quarter points.
The 20-point UBC cushion would be too much for the Cougars to overcome in the final quarter. Mount Royal did outscore the 'Birds 25-21 on the strength of 11 poinst from Holt Tomie. Keivonte Watts added his final five points of the night to land him at 35 points, setting a new single-game season high. Triston Matthews and Alex Nwoye each potted five points for UBC who finished the afternoon with a 48.2 shooting percentage from the floor and 40.2 percent (11/27) from beyond the arc. Mount Royal's final shooting percentage was 45.8 percent and they finished the day nine-for-28 from three.
Cougars head coach Marc Dobell added, "Keivonte Watts had a great game for us. He did all that he could. The rest of the guys probably felt like they could have contributed more."
The victory for UBC ensures that they'll square off with Alberta tomorrow in the 4 vs. 5 quarterfinal matchup at 2:00 pm MT/1:00 pm PT.
"The Bears are tough and well coached," concluded Kevin Hanson. "They shoot the three so well and space you out, and their key players have played together for so long. It's always a great battle when we face each other. It could be high scoring or it could be a defensive battle. We played today with a short bench so rest will be important for the quick turnaround tomorrow afternoon."
The last time these two teams met in the playoffs was in February, 2020 during the Canada West championship game - A 72-70 victory for UBC.
"We really rallied together. Our energy today was good defensively and offensively we set the tone in the first quarter," remarked UBC Thunderbirds head coach Kevin Hanson.
"Rebound really killed us. We weren't able to secure enough defensive boards," said MRU Cougars head coach Marc Dobell. "We allowed them to get off to a hot start and we had trouble defensively."
Both teams roared out of the gates with UBC nailing their first three shots and the Cougars countering with two straight makes of their own. Eight of the first 21 points for UBC belonged to guard Luka Lizdek who drilled a pair of threes and was successful on each of his first three shooting attempts. Second-year guard Tobi Akinkunmi was a perfect four-for-four in the opening quarter for the 'Birds and finished with 11 points. Not to be outdone was MRU third-year guard Keivonte Watts who notched 13 of Mount Royal's 19 first quarter points. All four of Watts' field goals came from beyond the arc. UBC outrebounded MRU 12-4 in the first 10 minutes, and took a 30-19 advantage into the second quarter.
"Tobi Akinkunmi had a great game. He did good things at both ends of the floor and sparked us with his energy and one of his best games that he's played for us," added Kevin Hanson. "Then it was huge for us to have Brian Wallack back. He was unstoppable today with 24 points and 11 rebounds in 21 minutes. The whole team got a big boost from those two players."
Mount Royal responded well in the second quarter, outscoring UBC by a 23-22 margin. But the first two minutes of the second quarter were a defensive struggle as the two teams combined for only five points in the first minute and 57 seconds of play. A Brian Wallack slam dunk with 6:34 remaining in the second gave UBC a 19-point advantage - their largest lead of the first half. But MRU responded with a dunk of their own courtesy of Sam Barnie. Keivonte Watts then buried his fifth trey of the day to give him three of his nine second quarter points. With 55 seconds left, Aaron Fernades nailed a three, moving MRU to within eight points. But credit the 'Birds who kept the Cougars at a healthy arm's length. Brian Wallack paced the UBC attack with nine second quarter points, and Tobi Akinkunmi went into the halftime break with 18 points, which already matched his previous single-game high for points (Feb. 11, 2022 at Victoria). UBC held a 52-42 lead halfway through the afternoon.
Through three quarters, Kevin Hanson's team had extended their lead to 20 points after outscoring Mount Royal 30-20. Tobi Akinkunmi supplied five of the first eight points for UBC, helping him secure a new single-game career high. UBC continued to lean on Brian Wallack who supplied 11 third quarter points, eight of which were in the paint. Holt Tomie and Keivonte Watts combined for 14 of the 20 MRU third quarter points.
The 20-point UBC cushion would be too much for the Cougars to overcome in the final quarter. Mount Royal did outscore the 'Birds 25-21 on the strength of 11 poinst from Holt Tomie. Keivonte Watts added his final five points of the night to land him at 35 points, setting a new single-game season high. Triston Matthews and Alex Nwoye each potted five points for UBC who finished the afternoon with a 48.2 shooting percentage from the floor and 40.2 percent (11/27) from beyond the arc. Mount Royal's final shooting percentage was 45.8 percent and they finished the day nine-for-28 from three.
Cougars head coach Marc Dobell added, "Keivonte Watts had a great game for us. He did all that he could. The rest of the guys probably felt like they could have contributed more."
The victory for UBC ensures that they'll square off with Alberta tomorrow in the 4 vs. 5 quarterfinal matchup at 2:00 pm MT/1:00 pm PT.
"The Bears are tough and well coached," concluded Kevin Hanson. "They shoot the three so well and space you out, and their key players have played together for so long. It's always a great battle when we face each other. It could be high scoring or it could be a defensive battle. We played today with a short bench so rest will be important for the quick turnaround tomorrow afternoon."
The last time these two teams met in the playoffs was in February, 2020 during the Canada West championship game - A 72-70 victory for UBC.