The Cascades’ Nate Brown (left) took over in the second half on Saturday vs. Mount Royal, finishing with 28 points.
Dominque Brooks dominated at the start, Nate Brown dominated at the end, and it all added up to a 24th consecutive Canada West regular season victory for the University of the Fraser Valley men’s basketball team.
Brooks tortured the Mount Royal Cougars in the first half on Saturday, racking up 21 points on 7-of-8 shooting from the field and 7-of-7 from the free throw line, on his way to a game-high 30 points. Brown matched that feat in the second half, scoring 21 of his 28 points after the break as the Cascades prevailed 89-72 at the Envision Athletic Centre.
“They’re capable of doing that,” UFV head coach Adam Friesen said afterward, reflecting on the explosive performances from Brooks and Brown. “That’s the benefit of our team – we have six or seven guys who could put up numbers like that on a given night. That’s what makes us dangerous.
Dominque Brooks scored 30 points in UFV’s win over Mount Royal on Saturday.
“Tonight we needed somebody to step up, particularly in the first half to keep us going. Dom did a great job in the first half, and Nate finished off the game strong for us.”
UFV, coming off an 84-69 triumph over Mount Royal on Friday, improved to 10-0 in conference play this season and maintained their four-game lead on the Thompson Rivers WolfPack (6-4) in the Explorers Division. The Cougars fell into a three-way tie for third in the Explorers with the MacEwan Griffins and the UNBC Timberwolves – all three teams are 4-6.
The Cougars were raining fire from beyond the arc to start Saturday’s game, knocking down triples on three consecutive possessions – two by Kyle Wilson and one by Deng Awak – and led by as many as nine points in the first quarter.
But the Cascades opened the second quarter on an 11-0 run, and took a 49-45 edge into the break.
UFV stretched the lead to 13 points early in the fourth quarter after Brown reeled off seven straight points, capped by an old-fashioned three-point play, and the Cascades cruised from there.
Both Brooks (10-of-15) and Brown (12-of-16) were extremely efficient in their shooting from the field, and Kevon Parchment (13 points) was the only other Cascade to score in double figures. UFV shot an even 50 per cent as a team, while limiting the Cougars to 36.4 per cent.
Mount Royal’s Awak and James Lefebvre tied for team-high scoring honours with 13 points apiece, and Manok Akwl chipped in with 12 points.
“I’m just blessed to have great teammates who did a great job of setting me up, putting me in positions where I can use my ability to be successful and help this team score points and win games,” Brooks said.
The Cascades hit the road to face MacEwan in a Friday-Saturday set next week, while the Cougars are at home vs. UNBC.
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