MBB | UNBC stuns No. 5 UBC

WINNIPEG – The No. 12 seed UNBC Timberwolves offered up one of the biggest wins in the history of the team’s tenure in U SPORTS, knocking off the No. 5 seed, and No. 5 nationally ranked UBC Thunderbirds 86-76 on Wednesday night at IGAC.

Point guard Justin Sunga led the way, recording a team-high 17 points and seven assists along with foul steals on tough defence in transition – a key for the T-Wolves against a fast, strong and athletic UBC side.

Depth scoring was also key for UNBC. Six different players scored in double figures, including Josh Gillespie, who had 15 points and six rebounds, while Chris Ross had ten points and a game-high nine rebounds. 

“With UBC, one thing is taking away their transition. That’s where they got most of their scoring, they love to get out and run,” said Sunga.

“If we take away that sideline pass, we’re in good shape. Our team, as long as we trust in each other, we can do it all.”

The T-Birds got 25 points and five assists from veteran point guard James Woods, and 17 points from athletic big Fareed Shittu, however leading scorer Brian Wallack was held to seven points, while fellow veteran Tobi Akinkunmi fouled out, scoring just two points.

“They were putting the ball in the hoop and we weren’t really getting stops on defence. It made it hard for us to go in transition,” added Woods.

“Their bigs were finishing well, and we struggled to share the ball. We attacked a bit, didn’t really find shooters and didn’t finish well. We just have to play a little more unselfish.” 

The T-Wolves led 38-35 a halftime, opening up a lead of as much as 14 thanks to three triples in the third quarter in quick fashion, one each from Sunga, Ross and Evgeny Baukin.

Leading 58-50 entering the fourth, Woods went on an 8-0 run, embracing contact and getting a few nice touches off glass, while All-Rookie selection Adam Olsen hit a three and followed that up with an and one to narrow the T-Wolves lead to four early on.

Gillespie finished a contested shot off the window shortly after, but once again UBC went on a run, cutting the UNBC lead to two in the late stages at 72-70 following a Woods layup in the paint. 

But that’s when Darren ‘Big Game’ Hunter pulled clutch, nailing a deep two, sparking his side in a 16-4 run in the final minute. Hunter finished with 17 points as a spark plug off the bench.

“I want to give a shoutout to Darren for hitting that big shot. We really needed that,” added Sunga. 

“We kept our composure, we just had to breathe.”

The T-Wolves will now face host Manitoba, the No. 4 seed tomorrow at 8 pm CT.