Mark Johnson (right) had a massive night for the Cascades, racking up 30 points, 12 boards and six assists in a win over Trinity Western. (Scott Stewart / TWU Athletics photos)
The University of the Fraser Valley men’s basketball team earned its first road win of the Canada West campaign, burying the Trinity Western Spartans beneath an avalanche of three-pointers on Thursday evening.
The the Cascades were prolific and productive from beyond the arc at the Langley Events Centre, hitting 19 of 40 attempts from downtown en route to a 104-80 victory. Mark Johnson had a monster night for UFV, racking up 30 points, 12 rebounds and six assists in just 27 minutes.
The Cascades improved to 5-8, good for 11th in Canada West, while the Spartans fell to 0-11. The two teams clash again on Friday at UFV’s Envision Financial Athletic Centre (8 p.m. tip-off, CanadaWest.tv).
“With a couple guys out tonight (forwards Sukhman Sandhu and Daniel Adediran), we knew we wanted to play really up and down and create some threes,” UFV head coach Adam Friesen explained. “We were fortunate enough to get some good looks. The guys shared the ball, and started knocking some down.”
The Cascades caught fire midway through the first quarter, and it was reserve guard Parmvir Bains who lit the fuse, draining a back-to-back triples to constitute the bulk of an 8-0 run. The Cascades led 27-17 at the end of the frame.
Andrew Morris chipped in with 23 points for the Cascades.
The visitors maintained a cushion in the neighbourhood of 10 points throughout the second quarter, fashioning a 9-2 run just before halftime to surge ahead 52-38.
The Cascades kept the pedal to the metal in the third, stretching the lead to 20 points (66-46) on a Kenan Hadzovic jump shot. They cracked the 100-point plateau on Jordyn Sekhon’s trey with three minutes left in regulation.
Johnson’s superlative outing included a team-leading five three-pointers, and Andrew Morris (23 points) and Sagar Dulay (14 points) knocked down four triples apiece. Points guards Bains (13 points, four assists) and Vick Toor (12 points, six assists) took great care of the ball, committing just one turnover between them. UFV gave the ball away just 11 times as a team, and shot 47.5 per cent from the field.
Max Viitala paced the Spartans with 16 points, and Pogos Trunyan (13) and Josiah Allison (11) also scored in double figures.
“We know Parm can play,” Friesen said, lauding the play of Bains off the bench. “He’s a heck of a shooter, and he’s our quickest player so he’s able to get into the paint. Mark Johnson really stepped up, and it was great to see Jordyn Sekhon (three points, three rebounds in 20 minutes) get a great opportunity and really show he belongs in the league and is going to have a great career.”
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