Blake Murphy Sports Writing

Vancouver, BC – The UBC Thunderbirds men’s basketball team will look to extend their winning streak at home this weekend when they host Brandon University and the University of Regina at historic War Memorial Gym.

The Thunderbirds have won four straight games to improve to 10-2 overall, tied for top spot in the Canada West conference. The T-Birds are also 5-1 in the friendly confines of War Memorial Gym, where they’ve outscored opponents by 10 points on average.

It has been a convincing enough start to the season that UBC remains second in the CIS Top-10 poll, exactly where they began the season. They’ve been as high as one and as low as three but have spent most of the year ranked second, speaking both to the success of the team and their consistency so far.

Brandon and Regina will both visit from the Prairie Division of the conference, and the teams occupy the bottom two rungs on that division’s ladder. However, both teams have impressive victories and went a combined 3-1 last weekend.

Brandon gets the first crack at UBC on Friday at 8 p.m. At 3-9, Brandon defeated UNBC 61-54 last Saturday. The Bobcats do a good job protecting the rim and forcing turnovers on defense, but they’re also susceptible to the three-point attack and send teams to the free throw line a fair amount.

The Thunderbirds will need to be aggressive offensively. Utilizing a drive-and-kick approach could benefit the team offensively, something UBC does well. Sharp-shooter Geoff Pippus(Colorado Springs, CO) could be a key to spacing the floor and breaking down the Bobcats.

On Saturday at 7 p.m., the 5-7 Regina Cougars will get their chance to try and topple UBC.  After starting 1-5, the Cougars have won four of their past five games. Led by Frank Brown’s 17.3 points per game, Regina has the ability to score points in a hurry and will force UBC to actively rotate on the perimeter since they have several adequate shooters.

UBC is led in scoring by versatile senior guard Doug Plumb (Pitt Meadows, BC) and rebounding machine Brylle Kamen (Paris, France), who are among the league leaders in many categories. Plumb leads the team with 16.5 points per game, while Kamen leads the team and conference in rebounding with 11.4 boards a night.

The Thunderbirds’ identity is predicated on team basketball, a key reason they have one of the strongest defenses in the Canada West. Five different players average double figures and only one player has started all 12 games, giving head coach Kevin Hanson plenty of options depending on the opponent and the match-ups. With two dissimilar squads in town this weekend, UBC will look to leverage that versatility and extend the winning streak to six games.

Both games will be broadcast on CiTR 101.9 FM, CiTR.ca and CanadaWest.tv.

As well on Saturday night, The UBC Thunderbirds have partnered up with Mahony & Sons to offer one lucky Blue Crew fan a chance to shoot for $5000 at half-time of the men’s game against the Regina Cougars.