The UNBC Timberwolves picked up their fourth win of the season Saturday, edging the host MacEwan University Griffins 89-87 in Edmonton.
Combined with an 85-77 loss Friday night, the men's basketball squad earned a split against the Griffins to improve to 4-6 in the Canadian Interuniversity Sport Canada West Explorer Division. The Griffins are also 4-6 and are in a three-way tie for third place with UNBC and Mount Royal in the division.
Saturday night, the Timberwolves built a 81-66 lead that stood until the 6:04 mark of the fourth quarter.
The Griffins then went on a 20-7 run to narrow the lead to 88-87 with seven seconds left in the game.
UNBC guard Rhys Elliott was fouled and went to the free-throw line where he missed the first, but sunk the second and the Timberwolves held on for the win.
"We battled through and came away with the win," said UNBC head coach Todd Jordan. "Up to the first couple of minutes of the fourth quarter, a number of things started to go wrong and we started missing close buckets. But we were able to hold on."
Because of flight delays from Prince George to Edmonton, the Timberwolves didn't arrive at the Alberta capital until 3 a.m. Friday morning. That affected UNBC's offensive and defensive energy Friday, said Jordan, but the players were better prepared for Saturday's game.
Elliott led the Timberwolves Saturday with 25 points, while six-foot-five fifth-year forward Devin McMurtry posted a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Billy Cheng added 12 points and four rebounds, while Vaggelis Loukas came off the bench and added 11 points.
On the women's side, MacEwan continued its stingy defensive play to beat the Timberwolves 69-53 Saturday for its fifth-straight win.
The Griffins outscored UNBC 27-15 in the second quarter and 20-7 in the third quarter.
Rookie forward Vasiliki Louka tallied a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
UNBC falls to 1-9 to sit in last place in the Explorer Division. MacEwan improves to 8-2 and is in second place behind the 9-1 division-leading Thompson Rivers University WolfPack.
The UNBC men's and women's squads host the WolfPack this weekend - Friday and Saturday - at the Northern Sport Centre. Game times are 6 p.m. (women) and 8 p.m. (men) on Friday. On Saturday, each start time is one hour earlier.
