They may be five days removed from a playoff exit, but the UNBC Timberwolves are still holding their heads high.
The T-wolves suffered two straight losses to the UBC Thunderbirds in a Canadian Interuniversity Sport Canada West men's basketball quarterfinal playoff series last Thursday and Friday in Vancouver.
Posting a regular-season record of 12-8 to finish second in the Canada West Explorer Division, it was the first time the team had reached the playoffs since it joined the CIS three seasons ago. The Timberwolves lost the first game 83-77 and the second game 88-78 in two hard-fought battles.
"Looking at the season as a whole, the program took a pretty big step moving forward," said UNBC men's head coach Todd Jordan. "It was the most successful season to date (in the CIS) and to make the playoffs and a quarterfinal is a pretty big accomplishment. UBC's program, they were hot coming down the stretch. They have some very talented athletes and it was a good measuring stick for us. We gave them a good run and at the same time, going into War Memorial Gym, it was tough going in on their own turf. But we got the playoff experience for the guys moving forward."
The Timberwolves only lose three graduating seniors - guard Jeff Chu and forwards Devin McMurtry and Franco Kouagnia.
At the end of the regular season, Kouagnia was named a Canada West second-team all-star, while McMurtry was honoured with the Canada West Student-Athlete Community Service Award for his outstanding work in academics, athletics and the community.
McMurtry is the first UNBC student-athlete to receive a major Canada West award and is now a finalist for the national Ken Shields Award, which is given out annually to a men's basketball player who exhibits outstanding achievement in the areas of basketball, academics and community involvement.
McMurtry was second overall in rebounds in Canada West, averaging 10.5 rebounds a game.
Jordan said moving forward to the 2015-16 season, expectations are higher.
"Hopefully we'll have an opportunity to secure home-court advantage next year and that can make a big difference," he said. "We don't want to be satisfied and we're hoping moving forward we'll be in a similar position. The guys now have a better understanding of what it means to be in the playoffs and to beat a calibre of a team like UBC."
While the season is officially over, Jordan's is not. He'll be busy in the off-season recruiting players to fill the holes in his lineup. One of those stops is at the B.C. high school provincial championships, March 11-14 in Langley.
UBC now advances to the Canada West Final Four at the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon this Friday. The T-birds will take on the Huskies in one match-up, while the University of the Fraser Valley Cascades will battle the University of Victoria.
