Langley, British Columbia Ryder McKeown paced the UBC Thunderbirds to an 83-74 victory over the Peninsula College Pirates in Wednesday's fourth game of TWU's Red Robin Classic. McKeown hit for 25 points, while pulling down 12 rebounds as the Thunderbirds rode a 35-26 run over the final 15 minutes to turn a tie game into a nine point UBC victory.

Despite losing guard Cory Ogilvie just five minutes into the first half with a possible dislocated right shoulder, the Thunderbirds were able to go into the break with a 43-38 lead. The first half saw each team control the play for extended periods of time. UBC came out strong and five minutes in had built an eight-point lead 16-8. Then Peninsula came charging back to tie the game at 23-23 with nine minutes remaining. The T-Birds responded and jumped back to a 10 point lead, 41-31, with just under two minutes to go. But the Pirates closed strong and cut the deficit to five points with a 7-2 run to close out the half. Ryder McKeown led the Thunderbirds in the first half with 12 points, while the Pirates Bandon Lord lit it up with 16 points.

The Pirates' Brandon Lord continued to lead the Peninsula comeback, his long-range jumper tying the game at 48 five minutes into the second half.

Casey Archibald then turned the game around for the Thunderbirds over the next five minutes. He had two steals and scored seven of UBC's next 13 points as the T-Birds built a 61-51 lead with a 13-3 run.

UBC continued their dominance as they were able to coast over the final six minutes after a 27-12 run gave them a fifteen point lead at 75-60.

Peninsula's Brandon Lord led all scorers with 30 points and tied McKeown for the lead with 12 rebounds. UBC's Casey Archibald also chipped in with 15 points for the Thunderbirds.

The two teams will finish the tournament tomorrow with Peninsula taking on the University of Victoria Vikes at 4:00 pm, while UBC will battle Laval at 6:00 pm. Both games will be broadcast live on TWU's internet radio at www.twu.ca/athletics.

Game Notes: the Thunderbirds shot 42% (29-68) from the field, while the Pirates shot 47% (27-57)UBC outrebounded Peninsula 42-37 and held the edge in foul shots (19-33 to 11-17)

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Scott Stewart BA, MSS
Sports Information Director
Trinity Western Univers