The University of the Fraser Valley Cascades men’s and women’s basketball teams both opened the Canada West regular season with a sweep of the MacEwan Griffins in Edmonton on Friday (Nov. 4) and Saturday (Nov. 5).
The men dominated early on Friday, and jumped out to a 31-14 to earn the 102-71 win.
UFV’s Dario Lopez had a double-double with 21 points and 12 rebounds, while Dhivaan Bhogal collected 20 points and nine rebounds. Courtenay Anderson (18 points) and Matthias Klim (12 points) also scored in double digits for the Cascades.
MBB | Dario Lopez gets the steal, and Dhivaan Bhogal lays it in just before the buzzer, and UFV takes a 71-56 lead into the fourth.#weclimbweconquer pic.twitter.com/MTuoqEZFCE
— UFV Cascades (@UFVCascades) November 5, 2022
UFV also shot a blazing hot 56 per cent from the field in the win.
“We jumped on them early,” stated head coach Joe Enevoldson. “I thought our energy was really good early. We were really dialed in on the task at hand and we did a really good job of following the scout.”
Lopez collected another double-double (17 points and 10 rebounds) on Saturday, with Bhogal getting one of his own with 18 points and 11 rebounds. Six Cascades reached double digits, with Dylan Kinley (18), C. Anderson (13) Uyi Ologhola (10) and Nolan Anderson (10) leading the team to an 88-81 win.
The Griffins shot just 17.2 per cent from the three-point line in the loss. UFV again stared out hot, but only led 71-69 after three quarters. The Cascades controlled the fourth to earn the win.
Enevoldson praised his post players in the victory.
MBB | Dario Lopez with a clutch bucket!#weclimbweconquer pic.twitter.com/WA5h8sw1D9
— UFV Cascades (@UFVCascades) November 6, 2022
The women got a double-double from Natalie Rathler (16 points and 13 rebounds) and Deanna Tuchscherer contributed with 23 points in a 75-62 win on Friday.
The Griffins kept the game close and only trailed by four at halftime, but the Cascades managed to extend the lead in the second half. UFV also got a productive game out of Maddy Gobeil, who added 15 points and three steals.
🏔️WBB | Maddy Gobeil gets this one to fall, and the Cascades hold on to take the season opener!
🏔️@goufv 75@MacEwanGriffins 62#weclimbweconquer pic.twitter.com/NLu4Mbae1b
— UFV Cascades (@UFVCascades) November 5, 2022
Scoring was more balanced for the Cascades in a 81-64 win on Saturday. Five Cascades players reached double digits (Julia Tuchscherer – 16, Maddy Gobeil – 15, Google Sidhu – 14, D. Tuchscherer – 11 and Nikki Cabuco – 10) and the team shot an impressive 49.1 per cent from the field.
UFV assistant coach Dan Nayebzadeh applauded the efforts of players off the bench after the game.
“The difference between tonight and last night was bench production. Different people stepped up tonight I thought. Julia Tuchscherer was unbelievable in the second half, and Google was our unsung hero tonight.”
WBB | Three pointer ➡️ Steal ➡️ Lay in 🔥🔥🔥
The Cascades lead 40-33 at the half.#weclimbweconquer pic.twitter.com/yTxQFx89ge
— UFV Cascades (@UFVCascades) November 5, 2022
Both the men’s and women’s teams take 2-0 records into the home opener against the Manitoba Bisons set for Friday (Nov. 11). The women tip-off at 6 p.m., the men at 8 p.m. The teams meet again on Saturday (Nov. 12), with the women playing at 5 p.m. and the men at 7 p.m.
For more on the teams, visit gocascades.ca.
RELATED: UFV Cascades women’s basketball team ranked second in coaches preseason poll
