Kelowna, B.C. – Playing in front of the home crowd for the first time this season, the UBCO Heat men's basketball team wrapped up its preseason slate at the Heat Fall Classic, coming up just short in a pair of tightly contested games against the Laurier Golden Hawks and Regina Cougars.
Game 1: Friday, Oct. 16 - UBCO Heat 67 - Laurier Golden Hawks - 68
A one-point heartbreaker opened the weekend for UBCO, as the Heat fell 68-67 to the Golden Hawks at the buzzer. The Heat came out firing, outscoring the Golden Hawks 22-13 in the first quarter and stretching their lead to 11 early in the second. Laurier chipped away to trail 35-31 at halftime, then took control in the third, leading by as many as eight on the way to a 50-48 edge heading into the final frame. UBCO battled back, winning the fourth quarter 19-18. The final sequence provided plenty of drama for the fans in attendance, as the Heat, trailing 66-65 with nine seconds left, executed out of a timeout to set up a go-ahead layup from Lamine Conde. The lead was short-lived as UBCO came up one point short after a Laurier full-court pass led to a buzzer-beater layup for the win. Conde led all scorers with 21 points on 9-for-16 shooting, while Mike Adarkwah-Nti added nine points, four assists and two blocks off the bench, scoring a clutch seven points in the fourth. Defensively, the Heat held Laurier to 28.8 per cent shooting from the field and 10-for-41 from three, and controlled the paint with a 34-22 advantage.
Game 2: Saturday, Oct. 17 - UBCO Heat 81 - Regina Cougars - 87
Sunday's finale against the Cougars followed a similar script, as the Heat battled back from a double-digit deficit before falling 87-81. Regina used a 7-0 run to take control in the first quarter and stretched its lead to 13 in the second, heading into halftime up 47-37. UBCO came out of the break with its best quarter of the weekend, shooting 9-for-15 from the field to win the third 24-20, sparked by Tarun Saroya, who scored 10 points in the frame on a perfect 4-for-4 from the field. The two teams matched each other with 20 points in the fourth quarter, but the Heat couldn't overcome a 31-point performance from Regina's Sufyan Elkannan, who went 6-for-10 from three. Conde led UBCO with 17 points, including 8-for-11 from the free-throw line, while new addition Wil Zylyk added 15 off the bench on 3-for-5 shooting from deep. Saroya finished with 11 points in just 12 minutes, and Adarkwah-Nti handed out a team-high six assists with three steals. UBCO's bench outscored Regina's 46-22, and the Heat held a 36-24 edge in the paint.
