MBB: Star backcourt leads Spartans past Griffins
March 3, 2022
CALGARY - The Trinity Western Spartans men's basketball team made a statement with a 37 point win, 115-78, over the Grant MacEwan Griffins Thursday night at the Jack Simpson Gym in Calgary, Alberta.
The Spartans finished the night with five players in double-digit scoring. But the story of the night was the dynamic back-court duo of Ja'Qualyn Gilbreath, who led the nation in scoring and was a Canada West second team all-star, and Mason Bourcier, who set the Canada West career and single season triple-double record and broke the Canada West single season assist record. Both Gilbreath and Bourcier achieved the rare feat of posting triple-doubles. Gilbreath finished with 19 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists, while Bourcier, who also set the Canada West single season assist record with 8.2 per game, finished the night with 15 points, 13 assists and 11 rebounds.
"I think the highlight for me - outside the win - was 'Q' and 'Mace.' Both those guys we felt got snubbed on the Canada West All Star voting. Q gets a second team when he lead the nation in scoring and Mason sets I don't know how many records this year," said Spartans head coach Trevor Pridie. "These guys have two of the greatest statistical seasons ever. They help build this program and turn this thing around and they both have triple-doubles tonight. That was pretty cool and pretty special for those guys in their first playoff win and we're looking forward to playing again tomorrow."
The Griffins also had three players hit double digits in scoring. Mason Hunter with 21 points, Colton Halbersma with 19 points and six rebounds, and Damilola Osuma with 11 points and eight rebounds led the MacEwan attack.
"At the beginning, we were a little scared when they jumped on us, and we couldn't recover, I thought we did some good things at the end, but again, we have had some terrible starts, and that is our biggest downfall all year," said Griffins head coach Mike Connolly. "We aren't deep and we're young, and we are learning. I thought there were some good moments out there, we just need to keep working on our game."
The Spartans will play Friday night against the Calgary Dinos. Tip-off is set 8 p.m. MT at the Jack Simpson Gym.
The Spartans finished the night with five players in double-digit scoring. But the story of the night was the dynamic back-court duo of Ja'Qualyn Gilbreath, who led the nation in scoring and was a Canada West second team all-star, and Mason Bourcier, who set the Canada West career and single season triple-double record and broke the Canada West single season assist record. Both Gilbreath and Bourcier achieved the rare feat of posting triple-doubles. Gilbreath finished with 19 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists, while Bourcier, who also set the Canada West single season assist record with 8.2 per game, finished the night with 15 points, 13 assists and 11 rebounds.
"I think the highlight for me - outside the win - was 'Q' and 'Mace.' Both those guys we felt got snubbed on the Canada West All Star voting. Q gets a second team when he lead the nation in scoring and Mason sets I don't know how many records this year," said Spartans head coach Trevor Pridie. "These guys have two of the greatest statistical seasons ever. They help build this program and turn this thing around and they both have triple-doubles tonight. That was pretty cool and pretty special for those guys in their first playoff win and we're looking forward to playing again tomorrow."
The Griffins also had three players hit double digits in scoring. Mason Hunter with 21 points, Colton Halbersma with 19 points and six rebounds, and Damilola Osuma with 11 points and eight rebounds led the MacEwan attack.
"At the beginning, we were a little scared when they jumped on us, and we couldn't recover, I thought we did some good things at the end, but again, we have had some terrible starts, and that is our biggest downfall all year," said Griffins head coach Mike Connolly. "We aren't deep and we're young, and we are learning. I thought there were some good moments out there, we just need to keep working on our game."
The Spartans will play Friday night against the Calgary Dinos. Tip-off is set 8 p.m. MT at the Jack Simpson Gym.