It's off to the consolation final for the University of Northern British Columbia Timberwolves men's basketball team today at the 45th annual Coca Cola Wesmen Classic in Winnipeg.
The T-wolves rebounded from a sloppy performance Wednesday with a 70-52 win over the Minot State Beavers in Thursday's consolation semifinal at the University of Winnipeg's Duckworth Centre.
"It was a good win for us," said T-wolves coach Todd Jordan. "We played with a lot more intensity. We shook a little bit of rust off that we had [Wednesday]."
UNBC led the entire game against the NCAA Division II school, opening up a 22-13 advantage after the first quarter and adding 21 points before the half while limiting Minot State to nine points in the
second quarter.
"We defended really well and caused them some troubles, while holding them to a low shooting percentage," said Jordan about Minot State's 34.5 percentage for field goals. "We were able to get some transition buckets and that helps."
The T-wolves were led by Joel Rybachuk with 15 points, but the game also saw double-digit scores from Sam Raphael (13), Keven Madsen (10) and Jose Araujo (10).
The Stark brothers - Dennis and Dan - led the T-wolves in rebounds with eight and six respectively.
"Joel Rybachuk played a very good game and played good defence," said Jordan. "They had a very sound point guard and he did a very good job against him."
It was Rybachuk's job to guard Yonas Behre and he limited him to seven points. Minot State was led by junior Josh Johnson, who had a game-high 21 points and 15 rebounds.
The T-wolves will face the University of Manitoba Bisons in the consolation final today - noon PST with the game streamed online at www.canadawest.tv - after the Bisons edged Keyano College 91-79.
"I'm glad we're going to get this game," said Jordan. "The reason we came to the tournament was to get three really tough games to prepare us for the second half of the year. We're happy to get Manitoba because I think they're one of the better teams at this tournament."
The Bisons have a 4-4 record in Canada West action this season, placing them fourth behind Alberta, Saskatchewan and Lethbridge. For the T-wolves (4-2 in PACWEST action) playing in the annual Winnipeg tournament gives them an opportunity to test themselves against competition they face when they join Canada West next season.
The T-wolves return to regular season action Jan. 13 and 14 when Kwantlen University and Langara College visit UNBC.
