KELOWNA, B.C. — The UBCO Heat fell 98-62 to the U-SPORTS No. 5-ranked UBC Thunderbirds on Friday at the UBCO Gymnasium, as a 27-8 second quarter by the visitors broke the game open.
Player of the Game
Tarun Saroya led the Heat with 13 points and four steals, while
Anthony Brady added 12 points on 4-for-7 shooting and a perfect 3-for-3 at the line.
Ariel Tsaiger dished out six assists to go with seven points, and
Dom Zaino swatted three shots.
A
Mike Adarkwah-Nti steal set up Brady's three-pointer off a Saroya feed, giving the Heat a brief 3-2 lead early in the first quarter. The Heat stayed close and trailed just 12-11 after a Saroya three, a Brady layup, and a free throw but the Thunderbirds dominated inside with an 18-6 edge in points in the paint and a 13-3 rebounding advantage to lead 27-17 after one.
After Adarkwah-Nti's free throws with five minutes remaining, the Heat didn't score again until Saroya's layup with 16 seconds left, shooting 2-for-12 and committing 12 turnovers in the frame as the visitors took a 54-25 lead into the break.
The Heat found more success inside after halftime, as Brady and
Isaak Moore got to the rim and
Tylen Lewis and
Faisal Shawwa added layups of their own for 12 points in the paint. Lewis also hit a three-pointer in the final minute, but five turnovers and five Thunderbirds' offensive rebounds helped the visitors take the quarter 24-20 for a 78-45 lead.
Scoring 14 of their 17 points in the paint, the Heat kept attacking the basket in the fourth and stopped the deficit from growing any larger. Despite Saroya's two steals turning into layups and Tsaiger converting one of his own while setting up four Heat baskets, the Thunderbirds took the quarter 20-17.
The Heat close out the weekend at home against the UFV Cascades on Saturday, Nov. 7, at 6 p.m. Tickets can be purchased at
GoHeat.ca/Tickets.
