UNBC leaves Capilano singing blues
Experience defeated youth.
Armed with veterans and scoring depth, backed by the support of fans on their home court, the UNBC Northern Timberwolves swept the Capilano University Blues in their doubleheader.
It didn’t matter that the Capilano University Blues were undefeated. It didn’t matter how motivated Blues head coach Jordan Yu was to win in his hometown.
In the end, the Timberwolves celebrated wins of 79-69 on Friday and 90-80 on Saturday. The results left each team at 9-2, with UNBC slipping into second in the 10-team standings for winning their only two meetings of the regular season. The standings atop the B.C. Colleges Athletic Association (BCCAA) men’s basketball leaderboard will change more this weekend with the Blues hosting the top team, the Vancouver Island University Mariners, who sport a record of 10-1.
The Timberwolves are back at home this weekend, hosting the Kwantlen Polytechnic University Eagles on Friday and Saturday (8 p.m. at the Northern Sport Centre).
“I thought we were able to go really deep into our bench, and again wore them down a little bit tonight,” Timberwolves head coach Todd Jordan, 29, said following Saturday’s game.
Fifth-year guard Inderbir Gill was his usual self, finishing with a game-high 26 points. Fourth-year guard Sebastien-Kevin Louis recorded 21 points while third-year guard Francis Rowe collected 18.
Third-year guard Connor Mahannah led the Blues with 21 points. Rookie guard Mathew Uduboker recorded 20 while third-year forward Michael Zayonc had 19.
The weekend marked Yu’s first time coaching in a basketball game in Prince George since he moved from Prince George to the Lower Mainland in 2001. A former BCCAA player at Capilano and Canadian Interuniversity Sport athlete with the UBC Thunderbirds, Yu took over as head coach of the Blues’ men’s basketball team in 2009.
Yu, a 28-year-old who graduated from Duchess Park Secondary in 2001, wasn’t hanging his head over the losses.
“I’m sorry, I can’t take this as a loss right now. Sure we lost on the basketball court, but me myself, I don’t feel I lost as a coach at all. They have some talented players. Inderbir Gill is one of the best players in the country. They shot the lights out this weekend.”
The Blues leading scorer didn’t suit up Saturday night as James Lum, a frontrunner for this season’s BCCAA Rookie of the Year award, sat out the game with a heel injury. Yu was hopeful the injury would only keep him sidelined for four or five days.
On the UNBC side, third-year guard/forward Sam Raphael was out of the lineup on the weekend with a knee injury.
Louis said they need to continue working on defence.
“Just the little details, box out, rebound and we’ll be fine down the road.”
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