The men came close, but neither UBC Okanagan basketball squad could find a victory on opening weekend of the Canada West regular season.
On Friday, the Heat men rallied back in the fourth quarter but it was too little too late in a 72-60 loss to Alberta Golden Bears. Mitch Goodwin led the Heat with 13 points, also grabbing four rebounds and three steals.
Despite the loss, coach Pete Guarasci was pleased with his team’s effort.
“They executed, they played with passion at both ends of the floor,” said Guarasci.
On Saturday, UBCO hung with the University of Saskatchewan for the better part of 35 minutes before Andrew Henry dropped a late three-pointer to sink the Heat 76-68.
The Heat’s Greet Gill led his team in scoring with 15 points while grabbing five boards.
James Lum, who came off the bench and played 26 solid minutes was UBCO’s player of the game.
“I thought James came off the bench and gave us great energy,” Guarasci said of his third-year recruit
This weekend, the Heat will head to Calgary for two games with the Mount Royal Cougars.
Heat women
The UBCO women came up short against their two Prairie opponents to open the season.
On Friday, the Alberta Pandas outscored the Heat 18-4 in the fourth quarter on the way to a 62-43 victory. Sarah Allison, UBCO’s player of the game, led the Heat with team-high 12 points and three steals.
On Saturday, the Heat’s shooting went cold as the Saskatchewan Huskies rolled past UBCO 94-50.
“We knew it was going to be a tough game,” commented the Heat’s Sarah Allison “It just wasn’t the type of game we wanted to bring, especially after the way we played against Alberta.”
Emily Kanester led the Heat with nine points, while Allison and Claire Elliott added eight points each.
The Heat (0-2) will take to the road this weekend for two games in Calgary against Mount Royal.
