The Heat’s Hafith Moalin racked up a career-high of 20 points but it wasn’t enough to get the win against the UFV Cascades in Saturday’s rematch.
On Friday, the Heat lost to the Cascades (89-76) and would lose again on Saturday (87-69).
The first quarter would be the difference on the night, as UBCO trailed by 16 at the end of the first (24-8) and was never able to gain any momentum.
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The Cascades winning strategy differed from the one they used Friday to top the Heat in the opener of the two-game set. UFV trailed by 10 points midway through the third quarter of that game in that game, using long-distance shots to their advantage. They shot 58 per cent from the three-point range.
Saturday’s rematch saw the Cascades hit just 21.7 per cent from behind the arc, but they were able to limit the heat to 25.9 per cent from the field while making 45.6 per cent themselves. Rather than waiting to do the heavy lifting late, the hosts raced out to a 28-8 lead and cruising from there, expanding the margin as high as 37 points in the fourth quarter.
After the game, Heat coach Clay Pottinger noted his team managed to hit just 26.2 per cent of their shots in the paint and said the game may have looked different if more of those shots go in.
“It was a really poor shooting night for us and then compounded by when the score (margin) gets up, guys lose their will to compete,” said Pottinger.
“We were just missing a lot of shots early. We actually had more attempts than they did and you’ve just got to burry more of those. A lot of those were little bunnies in the paint that we just weren’t making. We make a few more of those early, it’s probably a little different look for us.”
The Heat will return home next weekend when they take on the UBC Thunderbirds for two games.
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