KAMLOOPS – The Thompson Rivers WolfPack men's basketball team went toe-to-toe with the nationally ranked UBC Thunderbirds but came up just short in an 89-81 loss inside the TCC.
 
TRU had the lead down to just three with a minute left to play, but UBC hit clutch free throws and a massive offensive rebound from Triston Matthews with 44 seconds left allowed the Thunderbirds to run out the clock.
 
Daniel Bost had the best shooting night of his WolfPack career with 21 points while going 5-7 from beyond-the-arc. Denys Bachurin added 17 points and seven rebounds with Asher Mayan rounding out the top scorers for TRU with 15 points and seven assists.
 
Matthews had 21 points of his own for UBC, Brian Wallack had a double-double with 18 points and 12 rebounds and three other T-Birds hit double-digits in scoring on the night.
 
TRU came out on fire to start the night. Bost had a trio of three-pointers in the opening ten minutes and Bachurin added two of his own. The WolfPack maintained an eight-point lead throughout much of the first quarter, but the Thunderbirds shot 77 per cent from the floor as a team to keep themselves in it.
 
UBC chipped away at the TRU lead early in the second quarter and held their first advantage of the night just three minutes into the frame thanks to a three-pointer from Matthews. The teams traded points throughout the rest of the quarter before Bost's fifth three-pointer of the night allowed the 'Pack to head into the halftime break leading 49-47.
 
UBC hit 61 per cent of their shots from the floor in the third quarter and a 9-0 run near the end of the frame allowed them to hold a slim four-point advantage heading into the fourth and final frame.
 
The Thunderbirds stretched that lead to eight early in the fourth, but the WolfPack refused to go away. Thomas Olsen nailed a pair of free-throws to make it a one possession game with just one minute left, but in the end eight points from James Wood in the final quarter were too much for the 'Pack to overcome.
 
The loss drops TRU to 5-7 on the year where they are locked in a five-way tie for tenth in the conference. The 'Pack will hit the road next weekend for a pair of crucial games against the 5-7 UFV Cascades.