The Trinity Western men’s basketball team completed its four-game China tour with an 86-70 win over the Beijing Sports University on Oct. 14.
The Spartans, who finish their trip with a 3-0-1 record, shut down the Beijing Sports University defensively and were monsters on the offensive glass as they pulled down 27 offensive rebounds.
Trinity Western’s Calvin Westbrook led the team offensively with 17 points while Kyle Coston had 14 points and 10 rebounds and Eli Mara had a dozen points.
Trinity Western improved to 4-1-1 in the preseason.
“This was our best defensive effort of the season,” said Spartans coach Scott Allen. “The combined effort of the team on the defensive end was a major improvement and collectively we wore down the Beijing team by relentless offensive rebounding. It was a good opportunity to spread the minutes evenly as every one of our players played over 10 minutes and each player hit the score sheet.”
The Spartans took control of the game early and never let go as they possessed a 17-9 lead after the first quarter and kept building from there. At halftime, Trinity Western was up 38-29 and after the third quarter it was 65-42 before the Spartans put it into cruise control in the final frame and wound up with a 16-point victory.
The Spartans return to Langley and will now prepare for the start of the Canada West regular season, which tips off Nov. 4.
