MBB: Timberwolves hang on to defeat Griffins

EDMONTON - The Timberwolves held on tight to their second half lead and refused to let go, finishing 89-87 over the MacEwan University Griffins Saturday night. Both the Timberwolves and Griffins sit at 4-6 after splitting the weekend.
 
Both teams had early shooting woes before heating up near the end of the first quarter. A Denzel James three pointer gave the Griffins a 16-15 lead after the first. Rhys Elliott led the way for the Timberwolves with five points.
 
An early 6-0 run for the Timberwolves gave them a lead they maintained throughout the second quarter. Devin McMurtry led the Twolves in the second with eight points and six rebounds. Lee Danderfer sizzled from the three-point line near the end of the half knocking down three clutch shots as the teams went to the half tied at 37.
 
Elliot hit a pair of threes in the third quarter for the Timberwolves and scored 12 points in total to ignite an explosive offensive performance as the Twolves built a 67-59 lead heading into the final quarter. Danderfer did his best to answer as he poured in 10 points for the Griffins.
 
The final quarter saw the Timberwolves pull ahead 81-68, their largest lead of the game but the Griffins battled back. An offensive foul on bigman Franco Kouagnia was his fifth and final foul. Without Kouagnia in the key the Griffins appeared to find space to run their offense, going on a 12-1 run heading into the final minute of play. With 10 seconds to play Colin Plumb went to the foul line, hitting both his shots to put the Timberwolves up by four. The Griffins answered with a three-point attempt but were fouled. After sinking all three foul-shots and only seconds on the clock the Timberwolves led by only one point. Rhys Elliot went 1/2 after being fouled, putting the Timberwolves up 89-87, the lead they would hold onto as the final seconds ticked off the clock. At the final whistle the Timberwolves held on to defeat the Griffins 89-87, splitting the weekend.
 
Danderfer finished the game with a game-high 29 points, going 6-10 from the three-point line, to earn player of the game honours for the Griffins.

Elliot was just as effective from beyond the arc going 5-9, finishing with 25 points earning the honours for the Timberwolves. Devin McMurtry added 14 points and 10 rebounds to the Twolves' total.

Next up for the Griffins is a home match against the University of Fraser Valley Cascades on Friday evening at 7:00 p.m. PST

The Timberwolves return home to take on the Thompson Rivers WolfPack on Friday evening with tip off scheduled for 8:00 p.m. PST, with their Shoot for the Cure night happening Saturday evening.

Contact Information

Jesse Olynyk
Sports Information Officer
250-960-6009