The Timberwolves came within a whisker of knocking off a Canada West power.
Thursday night at the Northern Sport Centre, the UNBC men's basketball team led the University of Alberta Golden Bears for the majority of the game but dropped a 78-74 decision after their opponent stormed back in the fourth quarter. The Golden Bears -- ranked seventh in the country -- outscored the Timberwolves 32-19 in the last 10 minutes to escape with the win.
The score was tied 74-74 after UNBC's Francis Rowe hit a floater in the key with 55.7 seconds left. The winning bucket came out of the hands of U of A's Sahr Saffa when he drained a three-ball with about 30 seconds remaining. After the Golden Bears failed to convert inside, the ball was kicked back out to him and he found all nylon just before the shot clock expired.
The T-wolves tried to set up a tying three-pointer on their last possession but couldn't get it against the U of A defence. With 5.7 seconds left on the clock, Robert Dewar of the Golden Bears completed the scoring when he made one of two shots from the free-throw line.
The Timberwolves led 16-11 after the first quarter, 32-26 at halftime and 55-46 after three quarters.
Sam Raphael, with 17 points, was the top UNBC shooter. Jose Araujo added 14 points and Gabe Aubertin had 13.
Saffa paced the Golden Bears with 16 points.
Earlier in the night, the U of A Pandas defeated the Timberwolves 87-45 in women's action.
Both UNBC squads will be back on the court Saturday night for games against the University of Saskatchewan Huskies.
