Men’s Basketball: Cooley nets Cascades’ first-ever triple double in blowout win over UNBC
The UFV Cascades’ offence was firing on all cylinders on Saturday evening, and Matt Cooley was at the controls.
The fifth-year centre registered the first triple-double in Cascades history, racking up 14 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists to power his squad to an 87-58 blowout win to seal a weekend sweep of the UNBC Timberwolves on the road in Prince George.
Cooley’s triple-double was just the 17th in Canada West history, and his 13 boards were the most ever recorded in a triple-double. Perhaps most impressively, at 6’9”, he’s easily the tallest player to hit double digits in three categories in conference history. Other players to do it range from 5’10” (Winnipeg’s Erfan Nasajpour, Calgary’s Jarred Ogungbemi-Jackson) to 6’4” (Manitoba’s Paul Fust, SFU’s Sean Burke).
“You usually find someone of his height who can do the scoring and rebounds, but not usually the assists,” marveled Cascades head coach Adam Friesen. “He’s definitely showing all three of those facets this season at a high level.
“He’s having a tremendous year, and to be rewarded with this type of performance is a great honour.”
The Cascades (6-6) were hot right out of the gates, leading by as many as 11 points in the first quarter as Parm Bains scored 10 points in the frame.
The T-Wolves (4-8) fought back to tie it 22-22 early in the second, but UFV responded with an 11-2 run, and Jordyn Sekhon’s triple gave the visitors a 43-33 lead at the break.
The Cascades led by double digits for the entirety of the second half, with the ball moving beautifully at the offensive end. Cooley wrapped up his triple double with 1:38 left in the fourth quarter, threading a pass to Dhivaan Bhogal under the bucket for an assist.
Reflecting on his slice of Cascades history, the Coquitlam, B.C. product said it felt “amazing” to complete the triple double, and noted he takes great pride in his rare ability – for a big man – to pass the ball effectively.
“The game is definitely changing, that’s for sure,” Cooley said. “Just looking at guys like (Denver Nuggets centre Nikola) Jokic who can pass out of the post and really impact the way their team plays basketball. I think it’s a great thing to be able to impact winning without scoring the ball. I like to see my teammates as well as myself on the stat sheet, so to me, getting an assist is way better than scoring.”
The Cascades shot a solid 47.7 per cent from the field for the game, while limiting the T-Wolves to just 32.8 per cent. They also dominated on the glass, out-rebounding UNBC 47-33.
“We’re sharing the ball really, really well, and a lot of guys are playing with a lot of confidence at the offensive end,” Friesen said. “But at the same time, we were really locked in on defence this weekend. It’s something we’ve been working on all season, and it’s really coming together.”
Parm Bains knocked down five three-pointers on his way to a game-high 23 points, and Sukhjot Bains (14 points) and Jaskarn Bajwa (12) also scored in double digits for the Cascades.
Tyrell Laing led the T-Wolves with 20 points, and Fareed Shittu came off the bench for 13 points and 10 boards.
The Cascades basketball teams are back in action next week with a home-and-home series vs. Trinity Western. Games run Thursday at the Langley Events Centre (women 6 p.m., men 8 p.m.) and Saturday at the Envision Financial Athletic Centre (women 5 p.m., men 7 p.m.).
Women’s Basketball (Rich Abney, UNBC Athletics ): All-time scoring record falls for Claggett as Cascades sweep T-Wolves
Another significant record for Taylor Claggett highlighted the University of the Fraser Valley women’s basketball team’s 75-71 victory over the UNBC Timberwolves on Saturday evening.
Claggett, who set the Canada West record for career free throws in Friday’s 79-67 win over the T-Wolves, followed that up by breaking the Cascades’ all-time scoring record as UFV completed the sweep in Prince George.
The fifth-year power forward from Mission, B.C. scored 17 points on Saturday to give her 1,324 for her career, moving past Cascades great Sarah Wierks (1,321) for the top spot on the program’s all-time scoring list.
Claggett added 12 rebounds for her second straight double-double, Deanna Tuchscherer added 19 points and eight rebounds, and Nikki Cabuco scored 11 as the Cascades improved to 8-4 in Canada West play.
Madison Landry (24 points) and Maria Mongomo (23) led the way offensively for UNBC (3-9).
“Honestly, it wouldn’t have meant a lot if we didn’t get the win,” Claggett said, reflecting on the Cascades’ scoring record. “But now that I know about it (post-game), it’s nice. It’s not the goal I have for this year – I want us to go as far as we can in the playoffs, and getting the two wins this weekend goes a long way.”
“It’s a testament to her five-year career here, and what an effective player she’s been since Day 1,” UFV bench boss Al Tuchscherer said. “To get an all-time scoring record you need to be effective in all five of your years, and she really has been.”
The first quarter looked like a replay of Friday night’s fourth quarter, as the Cascades utilized their size advantage to earn second-chance opportunities and make the Timberwolves pay. Rookie Jessica Parker made a big three-pointer to stretch the lead late, and nothing seemed to fall for UNBC at the other end, making it 16-10 to end the first.
UFV came out hot in the second, going on a 7-0 run to open the frame. After scoring just a single point through five minutes, the Timberwolves were able to cut the deficit to six, but two big three-pointers from Cabuco re-established UFV’s advantage. At the end of the half, Mongomo was just 2-for-13 from the field while Landry was 3-for-11, and UFV led 37-24.
The Timberwolves opened the third quarter on an 11-4 run to get back to within striking distance, but late in the frame, it was again Cabuco making a triple to stretch the Cascades’ lead to 10.
In the fourth, UNBC continued to chip away, and Mongomo made back-to-back treys with less than two minutes remaining to tie the game 69-69. But it was rookie forward Tuchscherer, with the poise of a veteran, who made a corner three to give the Cascades a lead they wouldn’t relinquish.
“I was happy with the girls – I thought they were resilient tonight,” Al Tuchscherer said. “UNBC is a depleted team right now, but they’re playing extremely hard. Landry and Mongomo, they just kept on coming tonight, and that pushed us. We had to respond to that.”
The Cascades basketball teams are back in action next week with a home-and-home series vs. Trinity Western. Games run Thursday at the Langley Events Centre (women 6 p.m., men 8 p.m.) and Saturday at the Envision Financial Athletic Centre (women 5 p.m., men 7 p.m.).
Men’s Volleyball (by Jordie Arthur, Cascades communications assistant): Mariners top Cascades in three sets
The University of the Fraser Valley men’s volleyball team dropped a straight-sets decision to the Vancouver Island University Mariners on Saturday afternoon at the Envision Financial Athletic Centre.
The CCAA No. 6-ranked Mariners had rallied for a four-set win the night before, and they continued that momentum in the rematch, prevailing by set scores of 25-16, 25-23 and 25-13. VIU improved to 10-4 in PACWEST play while the Cascades fell to 5-12.
“We played a pretty good first set, had a big lead in the second,” Cascades head coach Nathan Bennett noted afterward. “I’ve found there are teams in this league and players in this league who are quote-unquote better than us, but when we lose games, it’s not because we’re outmatched. It’s because of things that we do on our side. That’s been the story of our season.”
The teams traded blows early in the first set, but with the scoreboard reading 16-15 for the Mariners, the visitors would rattle off nine of the next 10 points to seal the opening set 25-16.
The Cascades grabbed a 15-10 lead in the second, bolstered by six Caleb Kastelein kills in the early going. The Mariners, however, cut the deficit to 20-18, and a subsequent four-point service run by Karsten Nielsen-Roine lifted them to a 22-20 advantage they would not relinquish.
The Mariners scampered to a quick 8-1 lead in the third, and a pair of Adam Kapteyn aces helped extend their lead to 12-2. The teams traded points throughout the middle portion of the set, but VIU would make no mistake, closing out the match 25-13.
Kastelein led the Cascades with eight kills and seven digs, while Landon Uy posted five kills and six digs of his own.
Jeff Webb paced the Mariners with 10 kills, while Dario De Queiroz-Pereira had eight. Kapteyn dropped four aces on the night.
The Cascades now head into the bye week, before traveling to Victoria to face the Camosun Chargers in two weeks’ time.
Women’s Volleyball: Mariners sink Cascades, complete weekend sweep
It was a similar script to the previous night, as the University of the Fraser Valley women’s volleyball team fell in straight sets to the Vancouver Island University Mariners on Saturday afternoon.
The CCAA No. 1-ranked Mariners (14-0), coming off a three-set win on Friday over the Cascades, wrapped up series at the Envision Financial Athletic Centre by scores of 25-20, 25-16 and 25-22. The No. 10 Cascades fell to 8-9 in PACWEST play.
“In the first two sets, we were unclear on our responsibilities, especially for first contact . . . but also just playing tentatively,” UFV head coach Janelle Rozema said. “Once we started being more clear on what our roles were and more assertive in our contact, we didn’t give them as many easy points.”
The hosts struggled to find a rhythm early in the first set, notching service errors on their first three attempts and trailing 8-3 early. VIU would stretch their lead to 19-12, and a Shelby Doman-Banks ace made the score 24-13. UFV fought back, fending off seven set points with Kristen McBride securing a kill before going off on a six-serve run to make it 24-20. The comeback came up short, though, as VIU finished off the set with an Amanda Dobbyn kill.
The teams traded points early in the second to find themselves even at 7-7, but a five-point service run from the Mariners’ Andrea Cankovic boosted the visitors to a 12-7 lead, and they pulled away from there.
Amanda Matsui had an outstanding third set – she notched back-to-back kills midway through the set to get UFV back to within 14-13, and later on, had another back-to-back batch of kills to tie it 19-19. But with the score even at 20, VIU would score five of the next seven points to close out the match 25-22.
Matsui paced the Cascades with 12 kills, while McBride knocked down 10 of her own.
Karoline Tormena posted 13 kills for the Mariners, and Danielle Groenendijk notched nine.
The Cascades volleyball teams now embark on a bye week, returning to action Jan. 24-25 to face the Camosun Chargers on the road.
