KAMLOOPS – Solid defence paired with clinical offence was the key to a 69-63 victory for the Thompson Rivers WolfPack men's basketball team over the MacEwan Griffins inside the TCC Friday night.
 
"We settled down at half time and just focused on defence," said third-year WolfPack forward Asher Mayan. "We held them to a lot of tough shots, allowed nothing inside and it paid off for us in the end."
 
Denys Bachurin led the way again for the 'Pack with a game-high 24 points to go along with 10 rebounds for his third-straight double-double. Mayan put in a solid game finishing with 16 points, five rebounds and three assists while Daniel Bost added eight points and Cyrus Harrison finished with seven points and 10 rebounds.
 
"He's [Denys Bachurin] our facilitator on offence. We have so much confidence in him, and he's stepped up to the challenge," says Mayan on Bachurin's play.
 
The Griffins found their offence through Matthew Osunde who had 19 points, nine rebounds and two assists. Milan Jaksic also contributed 12 points, going three for six from the three-point line, and five assists in just 17 minutes of action.
 
The win was the second in a row for a WolfPack team that now moves to 2-5 on the year. The victory is also regular season win number 100 for head coach Scott Clark with TRU.
 
A back-and-forth first quarter saw both teams trading leads. The WolfPack came out charging through even scoring but the Griffins would claw their way back, courtesy of Jaksic who scored tallied points. TRU held a slim 18-16 edge after the opening ten minutes.
 
The second picked up right where the first left off: a tight contest. The Griffins saw six points from both Damilola Osuma and Cornelius Glasgow in the quarter while the 'Pack had seven from Bachurin and five from Mayan. The quarter would finish even closer than the first but this time it was MacEwan that held a 38-37 lead.
 
Solid defence was the story of the third quarter. The WolfPack held the Griffins to just seven points, while scoring 11 of their own. A 7-2 TRU run over the final three minutes of the frame allowed them to hold the lead going into the fourth.
 
The WolfPack offence exploded in the fourth as Bachurin came to life, leading the quarter with 13 points. Osunde continued to push for MacEwan, contributing 11 points in the quarter. A Bost layup with just over three minutes left to game gave the 'Pack a 12-point lead they wouldn't relinquish en route to the victory.
 
These two teams will face each other Saturday night at 7:30 pm inside the TCC.