They gave the Waterloo Warriors a true battle but fell short of victory.
The UNBC Timberwolves dropped an 80-71 decision to the Warriors in a men's basketball game played Friday night in Waterloo, Ont. The contest was part of the 45th annual Naismith Classic exhibition tournament and was also UNBC's first taste of competition in Canadian Interuniversity Sport.
"There were a lot of things we can improve on but a lot of positives," said Timberwolves coach Todd Jordan. "I think after this game there's definitely a real feeling with our guys that we belong at this level."
The T-wolves are weeks away from making their regular-season debut in the Canada West conference of the CIS so Friday's game served as a good measuring stick for them. UNBC trailed early but fought back and even held a lead in the third quarter.
"It was decision-making more than anything," Jordan said. "We started to move the ball a little bit more and made them chase us a little bit. And we had a couple of mismatches on the floor. We were able to expose them and spread them out and get into driving lanes and that made a big difference for us."
The Timberwolves stayed with the Warriors even though fourth-year forward Charles Barton missed the game because of an ankle sprain. Barton has previous Canada West experience with the Thompson Rivers University WolfPack of Kamloops.
UNBC got a team-high 23 points from fifth-year guard Joel Rybachuk. Francis Rowe, another fifth-year guard, hit for 14 points, while fifth-year guard/forward Sam Raphael finished with 12 points and seven assists. Fourth-year forward Gabe Aubertin had 11 points and eight rebounds.
The Timberwolves will play the York University Lions today and the Universit du Qubec Montral Citadins on Sunday.
