The University of the Fraser Valley men’s basketball team secured the second Canada West podium finish in program history on Saturday evening, defeating the UBC Thunderbirds 87-71 in the conference bronze medal game in Saskatoon.
Third-year point guard Manny Dulay, held scoreless in the Cascades’ semifinal loss to the Victoria Vikes on Friday, bounced back with a huge outing. His team-high 18 points came exclusively on three-pointers – he went six-for-11 from downtown, with many of them coming at critical junctures to swing the momentum back in UFV’s favour.
Dulay was but one of the Cascades’ standouts on this night – four other players scored at least 15 points, including Nate Brown (17), Kadeem Willis (16), Kevon Parchment (15) and Dominique Brooks (15).
“We showed a lot of character,” Cascades head coach Adam Friesen said. “These (bronze medal) games can be tough to play in, but starting with our fifth-years, the character of our group really shone through today. We wanted to get a bronze medal and end on a win.”
A conference bronze medal is still a terrific accomplishment for fifth-year seniors Willis and Jasper Moedt to end their careers with.
“You just reflect on it and realize how important it is to come away with that medal.”