By Cascades Media. There were a lot of ugly ducklings in the air tonight at the Langley Event Centre as shots at both ends of the court clinked, clanked, and clunked their way off of rims and out of hoops. The Cascades men’s basketball team (16-5) scored only 58 points over four quarters, but that was enough to down the TWU Spartans (10-11) by a score of 58-54 in a gritty, but rather unproductive, contest.
It was a game of inches tonight as the Cascades shot a collective 21-58 from a field-goal range and 8-15 from the line. The Spartans were plagued by even worse luck, going 20-71 from the field and an even .500 (8-16) on free throws. It wasn’t a performance that the Cascades will wish to repeat going into the post-season, but it took drive and heart, and it was UFV’s thirteenth straight win.
Neither the Cascades nor the Spartans were able to establish a significant lead through any stretch of tonight’s game, and consequently the eventual difference was a quick eight points in the final four minutes courtesy of Cascade Klaus Figueredo. Finishing with 21 points, including a 5-8 performance from behind the arc, Figueredo carried his team when it mattered most. UFV also found a 21 point, 13 rebound performance in Kevon Parchment, and 11 points and 10 rebounds in Jasper Moedt. Kevin Ford (2 points) and Manny Dulay (3) rounded out the scoring for the Cascades, who only had five players on the score-sheet.
The Spartans were led by Anthony Ottley with 14 points and 11 rebounds. In a curious twist, Ottley was the player who ended a Cascades 14 point run in the second quarter, sinking a free throw with 38 seconds left to narrow UFV’s lead to 32-25. The eight-point margin the Cascades had accumulated prior to that free throw was larger than any lead they would hold for the rest of the night.
“It wasn’t the prettiest game of the season, “said Cascades head coach Adam Friesen, “but we battled for 40 minutes and made some plays down the stretch to find a way to win.