SPARTANS COME AWAY WITH 10 POINT WIN OVER MBB WOLFPACK

For Immediate Release-Nov 22, 2008

Kamloops—A slow start and some bad luck shooting cost the Thompson Rivers University WolfPack Men’s basketball team .They dropped an 80-70 decision to the Trinity Western University Spartans in CIS Men’s action at the Tournament Capital Center (Sat Nov 22).

The WolfPack were down 7-0 early in the first quarter, and then couldn’t get the baskets they needed down the stretch to overtake the Spartans (now 3 and 4).

“We had talked about the fact they were a good first quarter team and we wanted to eliminate that,” said WolfPack head coach Thom Gillespie. “It didn’t turn out that way.  But to our credit, we battled back and cut the deficit to one by the third quarter.  Certainly, we showed a lot of energy and fortitude.  But the shots stopped falling for us.”
“They are a grinding team and hit their shots in the third quarter which I thought was key,” Spartan rookie bench boss Scott Allen reflected afterwards.  “ The key to the game was that we had 20 more shots than they did. It came from our offensive rebounding.”
The Spartans had 56 rebounds in the contest, 27 of them on offense.  That compared to the WolfPacks 9 offensive rebounds and 37 overall.

Trinity Western was led by their captain, 5 th year guard Brian Banman (Kelowna, BC).
“He was a leader today, there was no doubt about it.” said Allen.  “He had seven rebounds and seven assists.  To get production from Brian so early in the season while we wait for him to come around is a bonus.  He takes the pressure off Jamie (Vaughan) and Jacob (Doerksen) to perform as well as they do. We are building each piece one at a time. By the time we get to playoffs, we’ll be looking pretty good.”

Vaughan (5 th year, forward, Chilliwack, BC) had 23 points and 11 rebounds.  Doerksen (3rd year, forward, Abbotsford, BC) chipped in with 17 rebounds and 15 points.

“We thought we did a pretty good job on Doerksen,” assessed Gillespie.  “He’s an All Canadian type of guy. If we could have kept him off the glass, we might have actually won the game.”
The WolfPack tried to use multiple players against Doerksen .  “He played 39 minutes and had 17 rebounds. We couldn’t have one guy on him defensively---he is a horse.”

Jeff Friesen (4 th year, forward, Duncan, BC) had 21 points and eight rebounds for the ‘Pack.  Drew Bleth (4 th year, guard, Ridgefield, Wash) had  14 points for TRU. Tyler Hartshorn (3rd year, guard, Saskatoon, Sask) contributed 10 points.
The WolfPack continue their homestand next weekend (Nov 22-23) against Regina and Brandon.  Trinity visits Victoria.


FOUL SHOTS:  Allen thought this was a key victory.  “We can’t have any more losses right now,’ he said. “We will have them, but we are pretty focused on trying to go the rest of the way undefeated.  I know that might be a lofty goal, but we must try and aspire to that.  If you are fifth or sixth you aren’t in the playoffs. Fourth place,  you are taking on UBC in their place.  We have really focus on the little things right now. In the end, it’ll all add up.”
When it came to his team putting in the key shots,  WolfPack boss Gillespie said they need to make their own momentum. “ When you create it—its great when you can maintain it. When your opponent makes plays or free throws down the stretch, that can counteract any momentum you have created.
During Friday (Nov 22nd)’s game with Regina,  one of the Kamloops radio stations (97.5 the River) will be running a contest where a lucky fan can win $10,000 if they sink a shot from center court.