Men’s Basketball: Sensational second half sparks Cascades past Spartans
Abbotsford ( Dan Kinvig, UFV Athletics ) â The University of the Fraser Valley Cascades caught fire after halftime, en route to a 106-75 triumph over the Trinity Western Spartans on Friday at the Envision Financial Athletic Centre.
The Spartans, in search of their first win of the season, got off to a strong start, racing out to an 8-1 lead on their way to a 27-21 edge at the end of the first quarter. But the Cascades regrouped and claimed a 46-43 lead at the break, then dominated third quarter, outscoring the visitors 33-14 to kick-start the blowout.
The Cascadesâ season-high offensive output was a collective effort, as six players scored in double figures. Daniel Adediran and Parm Bains came off the bench to tie for team-high scoring honours with 16 points apiece, and Mark Johnson (15), Sukhjot Bains (15), Andrew Morris (14) and Vick Toor (12) also chipped in.
Ethan DaSilva and Vartan Tanielian paced TWU with 18 points apiece, with Isaiah Reimer (14) and Josiah Allison (13) also hitting double digits.
The Cascades (12-7) and Spartans (0-19) wrap up the Canada West regular season on Saturday at the Langley Events Centre (7 p.m., CanadaWest.tv).
âWe set a really bad tone defensively in the first quarter, and put ourselves in a tough spot,â UFV head coach Adam Friesen said afterward. âTrinity really made us pay for our lackluster energy.
âBut the energy level we played with in the second half, and the physicality we rebounded and defended with were the keys to our spurt.â
The Spartans started with a flourish, and DaSilva was front and centre, scoring six of TWUâs first eight points.
The Cascades found some traction in the second quarter, as Johnson hit triples on three consecutive possessions and Sukhjot Bains followed with a trey of his own to cap a 12-0 run to give the hosts a 37-32 lead.
A close game at the half quickly devolved into a blowout, as UFV ended the third quarter on an 18-2 run, sparked by dynamic drives from Adediran and Sukhjot Bains, and Parm Bains draining a pair of threes.
The lead was at 79-57 heading to the final frame, and it was more of the same from there as the Cascades extended the lead beyond the 30-point threshold.
âUFV started driving the basketball, and weâre just not good enough defensively to keep the ball in front,â Spartans head coach Aaron Muhic said. âThey just had a really good third quarter. At the end of the day, if you shoot 72 per cent in a quarter, itâs going to be hard.â
It was senior night for UFVâs graduating fifth-years Morris, Johnson and Navjot Bains, and Cascades coach Friesen felt that the gravity of the occasion may have initially contributed to UFVâs uneven start.
âWhen you have three seniors who mean so much to your program, the vibe in the locker room can be a little bit different because of the emotions involved,â he said. âI think halftime gave us a chance to settle in and understand our goal of playing basketball and getting the W. We were able to refocus and go from there.â
Women’s Basketball: Spartans pull away late to edge Cascades
A handful of big plays at crunch time lifted the Trinity Western Spartans past the University of the Fraser Valley Cascades in Canada West womenâs basketball action on Friday.
For a span of nearly four minutes in the fourth quarter, just a single point separated the two local rivals. But TWUâs Sarah Buckingham hit a huge corner triple with 1:43 left in regulation to give the Spartans a four-point cushion, and they fended off the hosts to claim a 57-51 victory at the Envision Financial Athletic Centre.
The Cascades (10-9) and Spartans (11-8) wrap up the home-and-home set on Saturday evening at the Langley Events Centre (5 p.m., CanadaWest.tv).
Cascades head coach Al Tuchscherer noted that while his team had a solid defensive performance, limiting the Spartans to 38.6 per cent shooting from the field, their offensive struggles were costly. UFV hit just 31.3 per cent from the field, including 6-of-25 from downtown.
âToo many breakdowns tonight at crucial points of the game,â he analyzed. âWe pulled within one several times (in the fourth quarter), but could never really seem to get over the hump. Then when we finally did, we couldnât get crucial stops. Frustrating game . . . 51 points isnât going to cut it.â
After a flurry of early scoring, the two teamsâ defences settled in and dominated the rest of the proceedings. Few personal fouls were whistled (just 13 for UFV, 10 for TWU), but the Cascades and Spartans both soundly executed their game plans at the defensive end. TWU led 16-11 at the end of the first quarter, with UFV closing the gap to 26-25 at the break.
The Spartans pieced together an 8-0 run midway through the third quarter, capped by Tessa Ratzlaffâs and-one layup, to take a 41-32 lead. But UFV clawed their way back into it slowly but surely, grabbing a 48-47 lead with 3:47 left in regulation.
The Cascadesâ offence went quiet at that point, though. A jumper by TWUâs Kianna Wiens restored the Spartansâ lead, and Buckinghamâs corner three gave them some breathing room.
Claggett finished with a team-best 17 points for the Cascades, Kate Head scored eight, and Amanda Thompson pulled down nine rebounds.
Ratzlaff paced the Spartans with 18 points, and Wiens (11) and Buckingham (10) also scored in double figures.
Women’s Volleyball (Jordie Arthur, Cascades communications assistant): Kidd, Cascades beat Blues in four
The University of the Fraser Valley womenâs volleyball team grabbed a four-set victory over the Capilano Blues on Friday evening in North Vancouver.
The CCAA No. 9-ranked Cascades got off to a hot start, winning the first two sets 25-18 and 25-23. The Blues would extend the match, taking the third 25-15, but UFV would edge out the hosts 26-24 in the fourth to seal the victory.
UFV improved to 12-7 with the win, while Capilano fell to 5-14. The two teams clash again Saturday at 5 p.m. in North Vancouver (pacwestbc.tv).
âCapilano is playing some of the best volleyball I think theyâve played this season,â noted UFV head coach Mike Gilray. âFor us to be able to beat them when theyâre clicking and theyâre playing so well is big. Thatâs what we are going to have to face going forward and into playoffs.â
The Cascades got off to a great start, getting out to a 4-0 lead on their way to a 25-18 opening set victory.
A back-and-forth second set saw the teams even at 23-23, but a kill by Keira Fisher gave UFV the lead, and Alysha Cooper followed up with an ace to cap it off 25-23.
The Blues took control of the third, building leads of 8-1 and 16-8, before closing it out 25-15.
The fourth set saw Capilano grab a 15-10 lead, but the Cascades fought back to go up 23-22 after a pair of serving runs from Cooper and Fisher, before finishing off the match 26-24.
Chelsea Kidd had a team-high 13 kills for the Cascades, while Kim Bauder had 12 and Cooper had 10. Kara Williams had 43 set assists.
Gilray noted that Kidd was a standout for the Cascades, especially in the first set.
âChelseaâs been asked to step up and play that P1 role and she had 41 total attempts tonight. Thatâs a massive add-on. To have three players put up double-digit kills in four sets is pretty nice for us.â
Isabela Lima led the Blues with 17 kills, while Meghan Koven and Zoe Mydansky both had 10.
Men’s Volleyball: (Jordie Arthur, Cascades communications assistant) Another close call for Cascades, Blues prevail in five
The University of the Fraser Valley menâs volleyball team dropped a five-set decision to the Capilano Blues on the road Friday night.
The Cascades started well, taking the first set 25-23, but the Blues stormed back to win the next two 25-15 and 25-18. UFV grabbed a 25-23 win in the fourth, but Capilano fended them off 15-11 in the fifth.
UFV (1-18) and Capilano (14-5) meet again Saturday at 7 p.m. in North Vancouver.
âI thought we played well enough in spurts to win a game tonight and we just fell a little bit short,â UFV head coach Kyle Donen said postgame. âWe just have to clean up our game and be consistent. I think if we had been a little cleaner tonight, we get a few of those extra points that we missed out on at the end of the match and that makes a big difference.â
The Cascades took an early 6-2 lead in the first set and despite the Blues pushing back to bring the score within one multiple times, UFV held on to take it 25-23.
Capilano took control of the second, building leads of 7-3 and 20-11, before closing it out 25-15.
The Blues continued that momentum into the third as they grabbed a 22-14 lead on their way to a 25-18 win.
A tight fourth saw Capilano take a 21-19 lead, but a service run by Justin Peleshytyk gave UFV the 22-21 advantage, and they went on to take it 25-23.
The Blues raced out to a 6-2 lead in the decisive set before finishing off the match with a 15-11 victory.
The Cascades were led offensively by Landon Uy who posted a team-high 12 kills, while Graeme Hughes had seven. Jackson Obst and Peleshytyk each had five.
âLandon had a monster night offensively,â Donen noted. âI thought his offensive performance was really good. He served really well at times too. His entire offensive repertoire came into play tonight and it was good to see him have a breakout game.â
Defensively, Ben Friesen had 10 digs and Evan Bell-Foley had seven.
Nikita Marchenkov led the Blues with 16 kills, while Jake Hagen and Zarley Zalusky had 15 and 14, respectively.
