The Ukraine Maker, as he's known, made everything happen last night in a season-opening 88-81 win over the Victoria Vikes last night in Prince George (Nov. 1).
Vova Pluzhnikov became the first UNBC men's basketball player to record a triple-double in the school's Canada West History with 25 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists in the first game of the 2019-20 season in front of a crowd of 800 at the Charles Jago Northern Sports Centre.
“We were playing in our house, in front of our crowd. The best crowd in Canada West,” Pluzhnikov said in a postgame team release. “We had to get that win. We owed our crowd.”
UNBC came out firing in the first when fourth-year guard Tyrell Laing put home a pair of threes to put the Timberwolves up 10-3 in the early going, but Victoria used their large bodies and cut the lead down to 20-17 to end the first quarter, with most of their points coming from second-chance chances.
The second quarter was tightly contested: Victoria's Diego Maffia made buckets but UNBC's freshman Fareed Shittu had the highlight play with a big alley-oop. He would end up finishing the first half with eight points and seven rebounds and the game knotted at 32 heading into halftime.
Laing and Pluzhnikov used their speed and skill to get into the paint but the Vikes used their size with Jason Scully, Dominick Olivieri, Hayden Lejeune and Matthew Ellis causing problems for the Timberwolves under the net.
With under 10 minutes to go in the fourth, Laing and Pluzhnikov took over, storming the hoop numerous times and scoring tough buckets while drawing fouls.
Pluzhnikov shifted into another gear, scoring 10 straight points to give UNBC the win.
“It feels good, I won’t lie. But it is all because of my teammates,” Pluzhnikov added. “All nine guys balled out. It was awesome to see everyone coming on the floor with fire in their eyes. I am so grateful for this team.”
POSTGAME: Hear from @VovaPluzhnikov after he made some @UNBCBasketball history with the first triple-double in @UNBC's @CanadaWest history. Watch the video, and you hear a lot more 'we' than 'I'. Great leader after a great TWolves win over a good @uvicvikes program! #gotwolves pic.twitter.com/4H4hjB9KGj
— UNBC Athletics (@UNBCATHLETICS) November 2, 2019
Laing had a night of his own leading all scorers with 27 points including going 12-for-12 from the free-throw line. Shittu recorded nine points and nine rebounds in his first career Canada West game.
“Their guards came out and killed us, honestly,” said Victoria’s Jason Scully. “They came out with more energy and more pace attacking the paint. Our bigs know they need to do a better job taking advantage of the size advantage we have.”
Scully led the Vikes with 15 points, nine rebounds and six assists.
POSTGAME: Hear from @uvicvikes' Jason Scully after his Victoria team fell 88-81 to @UNBCBasketball. Scully had 15 points, 9 rebounds & 6 assists. Rematch tomorrow at @NorthernSport at 7! pic.twitter.com/VGYL1j3BbC
— UNBC Athletics (@UNBCATHLETICS) November 2, 2019
The Timberwolves scored 40 points in the paint, 14 points off of turnovers, six second-chance points, 17 fast break points and 13 bench points on the evening.
Both teams clash again tonight (Nov. 2) in Prince George with a tip-off time of 7 p.m.
The first triple-double in @UNBCBasketball's @CanadaWest history!! 25 points, 11 rebounds & 10 assists in a massive 88-81 win over @uvicvikes!! The Ukraine Maker! pic.twitter.com/yqPeUN1NeB
— UNBC Athletics (@UNBCATHLETICS) November 2, 2019
