KAMLOOPS – The Thompson Rivers WolfPack men's basketball team was outmatched on Wednesday night as they fell to the visiting Trinity Western Spartans by a score of 88-75 inside the Tournament Capital Centre.
In what was their final home game of the 2021-22 season, the WolfPack struggled to keep pace with a Spartans squad that knocked down 41.3 per cent of their shots from the floor and led by as many as 29 points on the night.
First-year forward
Thomas Olsen had the best game of his young WolfPack career, scoring 17 points and adding six rebounds in 21 minutes of action.
Simon Crossfield notched a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds while
Brendan Sullivan,
Evan Smith and
Richie Mageto finished with 10, nine and eight points respectively.
It was the usual suspects powering the offence for Trinity Western. Ja'Qualyn Gilbreath – the leading scorer in the nation – had 27 points and 12 rebounds for the Spartans. Rookie Connor Platz had 17 points while Mason Bourcier finished with 13 points, 14 assists and seven rebounds to fall just shy of the triple-double. For Bourcier his 14 assists in a single game set a new Spartans' record.
The WolfPack defence held the Spartans to shooting just 6-19 in the first quarter but were unable to get much going themselves offensively as they fell behind 20-14 after ten minutes.
The two teams traded buckets in the early portion of the second quarter before and Andrew Goertzen dunk changed the course of the game. Just four minutes into the second quarter Goertzen unleashed a dunk that damaged the rim inside the TCC, forcing a lengthy delay as crews scrambled to get a replacement in place. Trinity Western went on a 15-10 run the rest of the way in the second quarter buoyed by five points from Platz to hold a 41-28 lead at the half. Crossfield led the 'Pack with 10 points at the break.
Trinity Western dominated the third quarter. The visitors shot 11-20 from the floor as a team and a 15-6 Spartans run to start the third quarter gave the visitors a 22-point lead that they wouldn't surrender. Olsen had eight points in the quarter but Trinity Western held a 26-point lead entering the final ten minutes of play.
From there the visitors were unable to run out the clock. Smith made some noise off the bench for the WolfPack but TWU held on for the victory that pushes their record to 9-9. The WolfPack meanwhile, fall to 4-12 on the year.
TRU will finish their regular season slate out on the road against the UVic Vikes and UBC Thunderbirds next weekend. Trinity Western is next in action this Saturday for an afternoon game against the UNBC Timberwolves in Prince George.
