The Thompson Rivers University WolfPack men’s basketball team has returned to its early season form. After winning its first five Canada West regular season games following an unbeaten exhibition campaign, the WolfPack lost last weekend (Nov 21). Thompson Rivers returned to their winning ways on Friday (Nov 27) as they opened up a two game series with the University of Fraser Valley Cascades with a 89-75 victory. TRU moves to 6-1 on the year while the Cascades fall to 5-2. The victory puts TRU back into sole possession of first place in the Explorer Division. “I thought we played with a little more life and had more jump to us today so I thought that was good,” said WolfPack head coach Scott Clark. “We gave it our best shot,’ stated Cascades head coach Adam Friesen. “ They played really well. I liked that we kept fighting. We battled back. We knew today was going to be tough. We competed as hard as we could.” The WolfPack held a 40-28 advantage at the half and won every quarter aside from the fourth when UFV outscored them 25-19. TRU had five players in double figures. Volodymyr Iegorov (4th year, forward, Donestsk, Ukraine) had 22 points to lead the WolfPack. Luke Morris (3rd year, forward, Mission, BC) had 21 points and 10 rebounds against his former Fraser Valley teammates. Josh Wolfram (5th year, forward, Kamloops, BC) had 17 points and 18 rebounds (13 on the defensive glass). Albert Medrano (3rd year, guard, Los Altos, CA) had 12 points and was named the TRU Bookstore/McDonalds “Leader of the Pack” player of the game. “I thought he did a good job and performed the way he is capable of doing,” Clark said about Medrano. “ He played within himself. Played hard defensively and it was good to see him rewarded for that.” Reese Pribilsky (5th year, guard, Victoria, BC) added 10 points for TRU. Fraser Valley’s main offensive weapon was Vijay Dhillon (fourth year, guard, Richmond, BC). He had 26 points. “We are really banged up,’ said Friesen. “ Vijay is one of our few healthy bodies at the moment. He knew he had to come in here and be aggressive. He really stepped up and played well.” Kevon Parchment (5th year, guard, Scarborough, ON) added 15 points while Brandon Burke (3rd year, guard, Toronto,ON) and Navjot Bains (3rd year, forward, Delta, BC) added 10 apiece. Matt Cooley (2nd year, forward, Coquitlam, BC) had 10 rebounds—eight on defense. The two teams close out the series on Saturday (Nov 28) with a 7 pm tip off at the Warner Rentals Court at the Tournament Capital Centre. “We are going to have to find a way to clamp down on defense,” Friesen said about what they have to do differently. “Offensively things will always be tough for us currently. We need to find a way to get stops and limit rebounds.” Saturday’s contest will feature the chance for a lucky fan to win $10,000 with a half-court shot courtesy of 97.5 The River FM and Aberdeen Mall. Every contestant in the shootout will get an Aberdeen Mall gift certificate. DOUBLE DRIBBLES: The WolfPack utilized their bench late in the contest. Prince Rupert, BC products Perry Terrell (1st year, guard) and Kyler Eckess (1st year, guard) got into their second game of the year. Both played in the last minute. Evan Cave (1st year, guard, Kamloops, BC) saw action in his fourth contest of the year as he played two minutes.