One and done.
Over and out.
The UNBC Timberwolves’ season ended Thursday on the men’s basketball court Thursday in Lethbridge, where they lost 95-89 to the Brandon Bobcats.
Led by the strong inside presence of six-foot-six guard Anthony Tsegakele and consistent perimeter shooting down the stretch from Jahmaal Gardner, the Bobcats overcame a seven-point deficit in the fourth quarter to eliminate the T-wolves in the opening game of the U SPORTS Canada West playoffs.
Tsegakele, the Canada West rookie of the year in 2019-20, finished with 33 points and 15 rebounds, his 13th double-double in 17 games this season.
Tsegakele nailed a couple of free throws and Elisha Ampofo also found the net to reduce the UNBC lead to 63-59 at three-quarter time. A couple more threes from Tyrell Laing and Fareed Shittu’s foul shooting had given the T-wolves their biggest lead of the game, up 71-64 with 7:30 left on the clock. But with Tsegakele sinking virtually every shot he took, the Bobcats took off on 13-4 run to regain the lead. Gardner, who nailed five of seven three-point attempts, was left open for at the baseline to make it a 78-76 game, and Ampofo and Tsegakele continued to score at will to add to their lead, which was never threatened the rest of the game.
“The biggest thing that hurt is in that second half was they got to the offensive glass on us, and Tsegakele in particular was really tough and he got to the glass a ton,” said T-wolves head coach Todd Jordan.
“Those second-chance points in what was a tight playoff game was the difference. The game was decided in the late third quarter and the fourth, that’s when the really important moments of the game happened. Both teams were kind of feeling each other out at the start because it was the first playoff game in a couple of years for everybody. To me, the big difference was those second-chance points they got in the second half, they didn’t get those in the first half.”
Laing, in his last Canada West game, got hot in the second half to help the T-wolves overcome a 41-34 halftime deficit. The T-wolves went on a 12-1 run to start the second half and gain the lead 48-42, and they increased the game later in the game. Shittu triggered the rally with big block and Laing, held to just five points in the first half, looked a lot more like the guy who averaged nearly 19 points as the league’s fourth-leading scorer.
Laing’s pull-up jumper tied the game and he hit from long range to put the T-wolves ahead 45-42 with three minutes gone in the third quarter. Both teams began to heat up at that point, with Shittu, Chris Ross and Vova Pluzhnikov trading threes with Gardner and Hans Befus.
Sophomore centre Shittu ended up with 23 points and shot 10-for-15 from the field. He and Tsegakele put on an entertaining dunk show and each had a handful of two-handed jams that resulted in spectacular points.
‘It’s positive to see that from such a young guy in our program step up and play that well in a playoff game and that bodes well for our future with him,” said Jordan.
Pluzhnikov, in his final game with the T-wolves, went 4-for-7 from three-point territory on his way to a 20-point game. The all-time T-wolves assist leader had four helpers and seven rebounds. Payton Tirrell (four points, seven rebounds) and Rotash Mattu (two points) also capped off their Canada West careers as graduating seniors.
The Bobcats went 2-14 during the season and came into the playoffs seeded 14th, just behind UNBC (6-12), the 13th seed. Brandon will advance to a second-round matchup against the Saskatchewan Huskies.
Jordan favours the single-elimination tournament format, the first time Canada West playoffs have been contested that way. All 17 teams in each of the men’s and women’s leagues made the playoffs. The league decided that was best for this season with so many teams having to postpone games due to the pandemic and each team playing only divisional opponents during the regular season.
“I think this is just a one-year thing because of the COVID situation, but I like it and wish we would go to it all the time” he said. “I think it’s nice for everybody and what I like is it keeps you during the regular season pushing. Normally there’s four or five teams out of the mix at the start of January and the thing I like about it is it keeps your guys focused on the process and obviously trying to get a better seed and you still have a chance at the end of the year.”
The UNBC women (8-10, seeded 10th) open the playoffs Friday at 4 p.m. PT against Brandon (0-16, 17th seed). The winner will advance to the second round against the Regina Cougars Saturday at 4 p.m.
