T-wolves out to beat the Heat
Back in the saddle again. Both UNBC basketball teams return to home court this weekend for games Friday and Saturday at the Northern Sport Centre against the UBC Okanagan Heat of Kelowna. The UNBC men were in action over the Christmas break in Halifax at the Rod & Joan Shoveller Tournament at Dalhousie University and finished with a 1-2 record. They got started with a 76-67 win over Prince Edward Island, then lost to Dalhousie 91-86 and Saint Mary’s of Halifax 76-64.
The T-wolves haven’t had any practice time in their own gym this week. Flight delays and/ or cancellations on their way back from Halifax kept them from arriving in Prince George early on New Year’s Day as scheduled. They finally got back Wednesday night.
The T-wolves did get to practice once in Toronto. It remains to be seen whether their late arrival will have any negative impact when they show up at the gym Friday (8 p.m. start) to take on the Heat (2-8), which sits 14th in the 17-team league. The T-wolves sport the same 4-8 record as 11th-place UBC and 13th-place MacEwan.
“It will be great to be back on home court,” said T-wolves assistant coach Aaron Brouwer, in a team release. “Our fans are fantastic, and they give us a real energy buzz. We are fighting for a playoff spot, with a lot of teams on the bubble. It’s important to come out and have a good showing this weekend.
“We would love to see the guys playing with an edge for the entire game.”
UNBC guard Volodymyr Pluzhnikov, a U Sports rookie who red-shirted last year, continues to thrive in a starting role with the T-wolves. The native of Ukraine had a 25-point, five- rebound game against Dalhousie. He’s averaged 12.5 points and 3.4 points per game and has been a force on the defensive side of the court.
Jovan Leamy has also had an impactful season since coming to Prince George last summer from Toronto. He’s averaged a team-high 16.1 points, coming off the bench in most of his games. The six-foot-five Leamy collected 15 points in 23 minutes of playing time in the St. Mary’s game.
Marcus MacKay has also held a hot hand lately and will be expected to keep that up this weekend against the Heat. The fifth-year guard from Terrace put up 15 points in the loss to St. Mary’s to determine third and fourth place and was selected a tournament all-star.
If the Canada West playoffs started today, the 12th-place UNBC men would take on the fifth-ranked Manitoba Bisons in a one-game playoff on either Feb. 9th or 10th. The top four teams in Canada West advance to the bestof-three quarterfinal round which starts the following weekend.
Fourth-year-guard Aldrich Berrios leads the Heat in scoring and comes to the NSC averaging 15.4 points per game. Aloysius Callaghan (12.1 points per game) is the only other player on the team to average double figures in points.
“UBCO scores lots in the half court, and they have a couple really good guards that we will have to pressure and keep in front of us,” said Brouwer. “If we take care of things defensively, and focus on each possession, the results should take care of themselves.”
The UNBC women (4-8, 11th in Canada West) are coming off a split with TRU in Kamloops, Dec. 1-2. They have to consider both games as must-wins, facing a Heat team (0-10, 16th place) still seeking its first point in the standings.
Vasiliki Louka, in her fourth year at UNBC, leads the T-wolves in three statistical categories – points per game (17.0, sixth-best in Canada West), rebounds per game (11.8, first in Canada West), and blocks (1.0 per game).
Look for Maria Mongomo to be even more domineering in the second half of the season. Despite a knee injury which has bothered her most of the season the third-year forward is second on the team in points (15.7 average) and rebounds (7.8 average) and leads UNBC with 2.8 steals per game. Madison Landry, a secondyear forward and Duchess Park graduate, has been a steady contributor on offence, averaging 15 points per contest through 12 games.
“The goal of the weekend is two wins,” said third-year UNBC guard Emily Holmes. “UBCO is a good team, but they are a beatable team. It would give us some comfort, rather than sitting on the edge of the playoffs. It would be a great way to start the second half of the season.
“We have a height advantage over UBCO, so we hope to exploit that, and we hope to slow their fast break. They are a quick team, but as long as we outwork them, we should have no problems.”
Both UNBC teams have eight games left – four at home and four on the road. They’ll travel to Brandon (Jan. 12-13) and Victoria (Jan. 19-20), ending their respective schedules at home against Fraser Valley (Jan. 26-27).