On Jan. 9 and 10, the men’s basketball team opened its second semester, sweeping a pair of games against the UBCO Heat and clinching the presidents cup once more.
The action began Friday when the WolfPack took on the UBCO Heat in their home barn. The Heat came to the court, warmed up after the long winter break and looked strong as they took the first points of the game. During the first four minutes, UBCO guard Isaak Moore scored 15 points, giving the Heat an early 20-9 lead. However, for the remainder of the first quarter, the WolfPack’s momentum started to build and refused to stop. In the second, the ‘Pack went on a 15-4 point tear, with a three-pointer by Cason Scott, and featuring eight points from Steven Stinson.
The ‘Pack headed into the second half of the game with a score of 43-52. After trading baskets, the men’s team started to pull away, aided by a helpful six points from Reuben Wright. With renewed focus, the ‘Packs’ attacks continued right into the fourth quarter. A massive dunk late from Jaysen Stephens topped off the WolfPack’s 20-point lead to secure the win, 95-72.
With the team’s victory, the ‘Pack took home its third consecutive President’s Cup. The President’s Cup is an annual rivalry matchup between TRU and UBCO. This challenge began in 1993 as a friendly competition between the University College of the Cariboo (now TRU) and Okanagan University College (now UBCO) to foster the spirit of friendly athletic competition between the two institutions. Points are awarded to each school based on the winner of each men’s and women’s soccer, basketball and volleyball games throughout the season. After the final matchup of the school year, a trophy is awarded to the series winner and remains in their possession until the following year. The competition was suspended in 2004, when UCC became TRU and UBCO was founded, before it was revived once both schools rejoined Canada West, TRU in 2010 and UBCO in 2013.
Since its inception, the TRU men’s teams have won 10 of the 12 competition series, while the women have won 5.
On Saturday night, the ‘Pack suited up to take on the Heat one last time at home. The first quarter was kept tight as the teams went point-for-point, with the score tied 20-20 at the end of the first. In the second, the Heat began pulling away around the eight-minute mark and carried that into halftime. With this lead, the Heat also led in shooting percentage by 61 per cent.
Coming back after the half, the Heat continued to lead until the ‘Pack went on an impressive run, scoring 15 uninterrupted points before closing out the third. Going into the fourth, the WolfPack mounted a strong counter-offensive, leading to a modest six-point difference over the Heat, 57-63. For the remainder of the match, the teams traded baskets. But in the end, TRU pulled through to take home the four-point victory.
With the pair of wins, the WolfPack remain undefeated against the Heat this season, marking the first time TRU has won 10 Canada West games in back-to-back years since the 2014/15 to 2015/16 seasons. The ‘Pack also remains in third place in the Pacific division.
The WolfPack will play next in Langley against the Trinity Western Spartans on Jan. 22 with tip-off at 8 p.m.