After spotting the Mount Royal Cougars an 18-point lead, the UNBC Timberwolves decided they did not want to enter the Christmas break beaten and
battered.
They scored six unanswered points to end the first half, went on a 15-4 run in the third quarter and tied the game with 6:33 left to play. But the hometown Cougars saved their best for last, outscoring the T-wolves 19-4 the rest of the way to earn an 88-73 CIS Canada West men's basketball victory Saturday in Calgary.
James Lefebvre and Derek Wolf, with 24 and 22 points were deadly for the Cougars and Brett Layton had 14 points and 13 rebounds. T-wolves' standout Rhys Elliott finished with 24 points, 19 of which came in the second half, while second-year UNBC forward Vaggelis Loukas shot a career-high 17 points. Colin Plumb and Austin Chandler also hit double figures for UNBC with 10 points each.
In Saturday's game, Mount Royal made it close, coming back from a 17-point third-quarter deficit but the T-wolves hung on for a 77-73 win. Elliott contributed 21 points and Plumb had 17 points and 10 rebounds.
In the women's game Saturday, the Cougars scored 30 points off 29 UNBC turnovers and held off a late surge to defeat the Timberwolves 76-69.
Katie Waring spiced the Cougars offence with 14 points, while Yasmene Saghir and Brooke Lister each had 12.
Eleni Steriopoulou came of the bench to lead the T-wolves with 18 points three rebounds and two steals. T-wolves guard Maria Mongomo had 14 points, all in the second half, while Hannah Pudlas contributed 13 points, four rebounds, four assists and two steals.
In Friday's game in Calgary, UNBC scored 26 points in the fourth quarter to erase a 16-point Mount Royal lead and lock up a 66-60 victory, the T-wolves' first win of the season. Mongomo continued to show why she's one of the top rookies in Canada West, collecting 22 points 16 rebounds five assists and four steals. Pudlas put up 13 points six rebounds and four steals, and Preety Nijjar contributed nine points and nine rebounds for UNBC.
Both UNBC teams return to the court at the Northern Sport Centre Jan. 8 to face the MacEwan University Griffins.
