KAMLOOPS – The Thompson Rivers WolfPack men's basketball team started strongly before faltering down the stretch in an 87-69 loss at the hands of the UBC Thunderbirds.
 
After jumping out to an early lead, the WolfPack were outscored by 20 points over the final 30 minutes of play. UBC shot nearly 60 per cent from the floor as a team and snagged 39 rebounds the TRU's 29.
 
Denys Bachurin led the way offensively for TRU with 17 points in his 20 minutes on the floor. Asher Mayan and Thomas Olsen both added nine while Cyrus Harrison and Evan Smith chipped in with eight.
 
Triston Matthews was explosive for UBC. The fifth-year guard tallied 15 points while hitting on five of his eight attempts from long-range. Nikola Guzina was 8-10 from the floor for 17 points and James Woods added 15.
 
Buoyed by the 600 fans packed inside the TCC, the WolfPack came out of the gates on fire. They hit 50 per cent efficiency both from the floor and from long distance as a team en route to ekeing out a 22-20 lead after ten minutes of play. Bachurin paced the 'Pack with seven points in the quarter while Woods answered with five of his own for the visitors.
 
After the two teams traded points for much of the second quarter, the Thunderbirds went on a game-changing run to end the frame. UBC scored the final eight points in the half and back-to-back buckets from Guzina gave them an eight-point lead through 20 minutes.
 
TRU refused to go away however and a hoop plus the harm courtesy of Thomas Olsen tied the game at 46 just three minutes into the second half, but from there on out it was all Thunderbirds. Brian Wallack had seven points in the quarter and a three-pointer from Matthews capped off a 15-6 UBC run to end the third.
 
The Thunderbirds were able to ride that score throughout the rest of the match en route to scoring the 18-point victory.

These two teams will meet again tomorrow night inside the TCC with tip-off scheduled for 7:30 p.m.