The men’s basketball team took the first game at the University of British Columbia Holiday Classic Tournament but lost the final two of the annual tournament.
In the first game, the Concordia Stingers looked impressive knocking off a sluggish Victoria Vikes squad 74-63.
Guard Philippe Langlois sparked Concordia early, dishing out five of his 10 assists in the first five minutes, while Patrick Perrotte’s 21 points and nine rebounds were both game highs.
In the second game the Trinity Western University Spartans trailed by as many as 10 points but bounced back for a 77-70 victory over the Concordia Stingers.
A pair of free throws from Concordia forward Partick Perrotte with 2:51 remaining knotted the game for the 13th time. However, the Spartans pulled away down the stretch, taking the lead for good on Adam Friesen’s three-pointer with 1:48 remaining.
The Stingers failed to make a basket in the final five-and-a-half minutes.
It was the final game of the Thunderbird Holiday Classic that turned out to be the most exciting as the host T-Birds hung on to beat a pesky Concordia squad 82-79 to improve to 3-0 in tournament play and 13-6 overall.
The Stingers jumped out to a quick 10-0 lead but UBC chipped away, taking a 42-41 advantage into halftime. Needing to win by 13 points to claim the tournament crown on point differential, the T-Birds played with desperation in the second frame, twice taking leads of eight points.
But Concordia had other plans, going on an 8-1 run and cutting the margin to a single point on a Rastko Popovic NBA-range three-pointer with 1:56 on the clock.
A dagger of a triple from UBC guard Corey Ogilvie made it 78-74 with 49 seconds left and the Stingers were forced to foul.
Karlo Villanueva left the door slightly open for a Concordia comeback, missing one free throws but the guard redeemed himself by nabbing his second steal of the night to end the Stingers’ hopes.
The T-Birds pushed the ball hard all night, generating 35 points off 21 Concordia turnovers, while our Stingers managed just 15 points off 18 UBC blunders.
Patrick Perrotte led the charge for Concordia with 22 points, while Dilip Nayar notched 17 points and grabbed nine boards.
