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Much-needed win relief for T-wolves |
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Written by JASON PETERS, Citizen staff
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Sunday, 16 November 2008 |
Inhale deeply, then exhale.
Members of the UNBC Northern Timberwolves men’s basketball team were performing that soothing action after a Saturday night victory against the Langara College Falcons. The win, a 70-61 decision at the Northern Sport Centre, wiped out the possibility of a 0-4 record to start the season.
“It’s a relief,” said UNBC forward Jesse Smith, who scored 11 points and pulled down six rebounds. “We’ve worked so hard. We know we’re a good team, we know we can compete against any team in the province, and it’s just a matter of coming together as a team and clicking.
“It was a full team effort tonight. We battled.”
In the B.C. Colleges Athletic Association, the T-wolves now sit at 1-3. They started the season with back-to-back road losses against Nanaimo’s Vancouver Island University and were then beaten 79-73 by the Falcons Friday night at the NSC.
For the T-wolves, the two points from the Saturday triumph were badly needed. This is a team that will host the Canadian Colleges Athletic Association national championship tournament in March. And, if the losing streak had been allowed to stretch much longer, the UNBC men would have been in danger of missing their provincial playoffs. Obviously, that would not be an ideal way to step into nationals.
The Timberwolves still have an uphill climb ahead of them, but at least they’ve been rewarded for their efforts and now have a bit of a positive vibe surrounding them.
“We didn’t necessarily talk about it being a must-win,” said UNBC head coach Mike Raimbault. “I keep saying that it’s about the process. We evaluated what we did (Friday) and tried to get better. I thought we did a better job of following our strategic game plan and I’m proud of the way the guys battled.
“We battled and got the defensive stops when we needed to and we also made our free throws. It feels good to get a win. Obviously 1-3 is a much better situation than 0-4. At the same time, our focus is on the long process at hand and just continually getting better.”
In Saturday’s game, the T-wolves were down 19-15 after the first quarter and 30-24 at half. UNBC started quickly in the third quarter and took a 33-32 lead about three minutes into the quarter when forward Paul Burkholder drained a three-pointer from the baseline. Langara’s Brad Quevillon responded with a field goal and a three-point bomb, and then six-foot-seven Falcons forward Clint Wickham -- the game’s dominant player with 21 points -- scored off of a rebound for a 39-33 Langara lead.
The Timberwolves didn’t fold. Instead, rookie guard Joel Rybachuk hit his own three-ball with 4:23 left in the third. His shot gave the T-wolves a big boost and they used it to go on a 10-3 run the rest of the quarter. The Timberwolves, now ahead 46-42, maintained their momentum in the fourth. UNBC forward Jarett Borsoi eventually capped off the scoring with a couple of foul shots with 23.8 seconds left to play.
Point guard Inderbir Gill led the T-wolves with 20 points. He hit six of 10 shots from the field, one of two from outside the three-point arc and seven of eight from the free-throw line.
The T-wolves had several key performers in the contest, but Rybachuk was a guy who stood out. Even though he’s just five-foot-seven, he plays a fearless brand of basketball and his intensity is infectious.
“He’s an energizer,” Raimbault said of Rybachuk, a product of Vernon. “He’s a bullet, and you know what you’re going to get out of him. I thought he was an integral part of what we were able to do tonight.”
In 26:58 of floor time, Rybachuk contributed seven points, an impressive six rebounds, and seven assists.
The Timberwolves have another home game on Saturday. They’ll take on the powerful UBC Okanagan Heat. UBC-O, a provincial playoff finalist last year, is off to a 4-0 start. Game time is 8 p.m. at the NSC.
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Last Updated ( Sunday, 16 November 2008 )
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