It isn't college-level basketball anymore for the UNBC Timberwolves men.
The T-wolves (2-2) learned a lesson about the intensity and fight of their opponents in Canada West play Saturday night, falling 103-100 in overtime to the Trinity Western Spartans (1-3) in front of a loud and enthusiastic crowd at the Northern Sport Centre.
UNBC fifth-year guard Francis Rowe said after the T-wolves rebounded from a 39-33 deficit at the half to out score their opponents 36-12 in the third quarter they settled in like they would've done last season when they secured the PACWEST championship.
"We've always been a bigger and more talented team in the college league so it was easy for other teams to fold up after we'd go on a little bit of a run," said Rowe. "In Canada West that doesn't happen at all and teams push back."
In the fourth quarter the Spartans put up 36 points, erasing a 19-point deficit and forcing the T-wolves to make a last-second bucket to tie the game at 87-87 to force the extra five-minute period.
"They played a little hectic which is what teams are going to do when they're down in the fourth quarter," said Rowe. "We didn't play very calm and execute and get our looks.
"We weren't ready tonight to take that next push and push them back," added the 21-year-old. "We have the team to do it. We just need to get ready and be ready to make that last push back and win the game."
In the overtime, the T-wolves opened with a three-point shot but TWU matched it on their possession to tie the game at 90-90. After a UNBC miss the Spartans took the lead but the home side battled back and led 98-97. The Spartans retook the lead when they made a basket on a foul call against the T-wolves and then went up 100-97 on the resulting foul shot.
The T-wolves played the final 1:33 of overtime without fifth-year guard Sam Raphael who fouled out.
UNBC coach Todd Jordan echoed Rowe's sentiments about carrying the lesson from the loss into future games.
"A couple mental mistakes down the stretch really hurt us," said
Jordan. "It's one, I think we should've got but the big thing about this league compared to the one we were in last year is the teams are mentally tough. They didn't quit at any point. They kept coming at us. It's something we've got to really learn from."
Rowe had 21 points for the T-wolves while Raphael had a game-high 28 and Jose Araujo had 25. The Spartans were led by Mark Perrin and Kurtis Osborne, each with 19 points.
UNBC won Friday's opener
between the teams 97-63.
Women's action
The UNBC women capped off a sweep of the TWU Spartans on Saturday slipping past their Pacific division rival 62-54 behind Jennifer Bruce's 26 points.
The win leaves the T-wolves with a 2-2 record while the Spartans fell to 0-4. Both the UNBC women and men will host the UBC Okanagan Heat this weekend.
The Heat teams are both 1-3.
