Men's Basketball: UBC goes down to top ranked SFU
Yaw Obiri-Yeboah, The Peak

Coming off from a disappointing 82-72 loss to UBC Friday night against the Thunderbirds men's basketball team, the Clan men evened the score with a thrilling 94-89 victory over cross-town rivals last Saturday night.

The excitement of the crowd from both sides of the gym energised players on both teams and resulted in the thrilling game that everyone in the crowd expected to see. The game did not begin exactly as the Clan had hoped, however, as UBC came out to a head start with a quick bucket by UBC star Casey Archibald. The Clan were cold to begin the game and unable to hit their shots. Brent Charleton ended the early scoring drought with a quick basket, and the luck of the Clan seemed to change.

The Clan then set the tempo in the game with quick baskets to open up a lead over the UBC Thunderbirds with Chad Clifford leading the way - he was simply hot shooting the basketball in the first half. Clifford's great play also got Pasha Bains to get into the game as he started to come alive in the game after the eight minute mark of the first half. Throughout the rest of the half the Clan were in complete control, shooting the ball very well as they have been doing throughout the season. Their excellent ball rotation often seen throughout their games this season gave the Clan men a 45-36 halftime lead over UBC.

The second half began with Charleton lighting up from beyond the arc and the Clan men containing the UBC Thunderbirds with their great zone defense. But UBC's speedy point guard Karlo Villanueva was finding ways to deliver the basketball to his teammates and it resulted in UBC pulling closer to the Clan, despite the fact that the Thunderbirds had foul trouble early in the second half.

While this caused the Clan to get their opportunities at the freethrow line and converted their chances very well, UBC's offensive momentum continued. With less than nine minutes left on the clock and two back-to-back three pointers by Villanueva and Archibald, the Thunderbirds managed to tie the game. UBC's pressure defense and hot shooting by point guard Villanueva and excellent offense from SFU's Raj Mander kept the game close. With two minutes remaining, UBC took its first lead. It was short lived, as the Clan men took back the lead by the strong play of Pasha Bains as SFU would managed to stave off a last second three point attempt by UBC forward Craig Rollins and close out the game with a 94-85 victory.

Bains finished the game with 31 points, followed by Clifford with 25, and Charleton with 20. The three stars accounted for 76 of SFU's total 94 points in the game, and they were instrumental in a narrow defeat over UBC. Bains continues to lead CIS scoring.

The next test for the two Clan basketball teams comes on the road against Saskatchewan this weekend. The Clan will be riding high after their big victories over UBC, and will use that momentum to carry them through over the University of Saskatchewan.

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