UBC must learn how to avoid letdown
Thunderbirds coach philosophical after big win followed by a close loss to same team
Basketball success in the CIS Canada West conference is almost always determined by what happens after the first game of a two-game weekend series and before the second game.
Two games against the same foe in a 24-hour period means it’s all about making the right adjustments, whether or not you were a winner the first day.
That axiom seems especially relevant to a young UBC Thunderbirds men’s team that has already qualified for the CIS Final 8 nationals this March by virtue of its host status.
Inexperience and human nature have merged for the CIS’s No. 8-ranked team. After having to settle for a split this past weekend against the visiting Regina Cougars, Birds head coach Kevin Hanson battled through a sleepless night, rising early Sunday to re-watch the video from an 83-79 loss Saturday, one that came despite 29 points from forward Conor Morgan.
UBC (10-4) drubbed the Cougars (8-4) by a resounding 78-57 count in the series opener Friday behind 23 points from Morgan and 17 from SFU-transfer Patrick Simon, leaving Hanson to ponder all the complexities that contributed to a negative swing of 25 points.
“In this league, everyone prepares for the four or five days leading up to the games on the weekend,” the coach said Sunday.
“You play one of the top teams in the conference, and you really get fired up for the first game. When you win, you feel like you’ve accomplished your goal and you put so much emotion into that first game that it seems there is an automatic letdown for the second game. But I also think it’s a sign of the parity that exists in this league.”
With six league games remaining and the Birds hell-bent on peaking at just the right time for nationals, Hanson knows his staff has as much work to do on the mental side as the physical. “All coaches talk about (mental toughness),” he said, “but once you beat a team, you have belief that you’re going to beat them again, and no one in our conference is that far ahead of another.”
Next up for UBC is a road doubleheader at Victoria starting Friday.
To win the Pioneer Division, second-place UBC will likely have to win its final six games and hope firstplace Calgary (12-3) slips up somewhere over its last five.
A division title is one of their goals to being the most confident and prepared team possible before hosting nationals March 18-20.
Women’s basketball
Simon Fraser’s young core has taken turns stepping up, with different 20-plus point getters in each of the past four games.
Yet a demanding week on the road against a pair of Great Northwest Athletic Conference heavyweights saw the Clan’s three-game win streak snapped by losses to both the Western Washington Vikings (8-2) and Montana State-Billings Yellowjackets (9-1).
On Saturday in Montana, SFU’s Alisha Roberts, on her way to a 20-point performance, hit a threepointer with 19 seconds remaining to pull her team to within one possession at 65-62, but the Clan (5-5) lost 67-62.
In a rare Tuesday game in Bellingham, SFU lost 69-58 despite 21 points from forward Rachel Fradgley.
The week prior, in wins at Seattle Pacific and St. Martin’s, SFU got 23 points from point guard Ellen Kett and 32 points from guard Elisa Homer.
SFU plays six of its final 10 GNAC games at home. They play Thursday versus Concordia (2-8) and Saturday against Western Oregon (2-8).
“You put so much emotion into that first game that it seems there is an automatic letdown for the second game.” — Kevin Hanson