By Cascades Media. The UFV Cascades men’s basketball team (10-5) powered through a disciplined UBC Okanagan Heat squad (3-12) to win 69-55 at the Envision Athletic Centre tonight. In the process the Cascades extended their winning streak to seven games, the longest in the history of UFV’s CIS-level competition. The Cascades have now consolidated their hold on second in the Pacific division with a two win cushion over TRU and TWU, while UBCO, however dangerous they looked tonight, remain at the bottom of the division.
At several points during the game the Heat appeared ready to deny UFV a record-breaking seventh win, but the scrappy UBCO defence could only accomplish so much against a 29 point and 14 rebound rampage from Cascade forward Jasper Moedt. A deceptively strong team that plays bigger that it is, the Heat drew several key charges early on the way to five point (29-24) halftime lead. They limited the Cascades to 8-29 from field goal range at half, including an abominable 1-9 from the three, while shooting a solid 45 percent themselves.
In the third quarter, the Cascades found their rhythm, but it was only in the fourth that they truly began to pull away. Manjodh Dulay, whose season total of 30-75 from behind the arc is good for 13th in the Canada West, drained five of his nine three-point attempts in the second half on his way to 17 points. Kevon Parchment rounded out the double digit scorers with 11 points and four steals.
Mitch Goodwin led the Heat with 14 points of his own, leading a remarkably balanced attack that gained points from every player who saw the floor. Still, the Heat managed only 24 rebounds compared to the Cascades’ 34, and failed to find an answer for UFV powerhouse Jasper Moedt on the glass or in the paint.
“Not a great first half for us,” said Cascades head coach Adam Friesen, “but a much improved second half. A lot of our troubles had to do with the well-coached, character-driven UBCO Okanagan team, who fought us tooth-and-nail the whole time. Moedt played fantastic and made all the big plays.”