Prince George, BC - The UNBC Timberwolves men's basketball team took home a victory over the WolfPack on a long three from Michael Smith. The Timberwolves upset the Thompson Rivers University WolfPack 83-81, the Twolves move to 5-6 while the WolfPack fall to 6–5.

Rhys Elliott (Adelaide, AUS) was instrumental in the Timberwolves win, the third year transfer netted a game high 27 points. Franco Kouagnia (Yaounde, CMR) controlled the key, putting up his fourth double-double of the season with 24 points and 13 rebounds.

The WolfPack were led by Reece Pribilsky (Victoria, BC) with 23 points and four assists. Fellow guard Brett Rouault (Vernon, BC) chipped in 16 points.

Bursting out of the gate the Franco Kouagnia jumped started the Timberwolves offence. The big man was able to net 10 of his 24 points in the first quarter alone. Battling for the lead Kouagnia and the Twolves were up against sharp shooting from the WolfPack's Rouault and inside pressure from Josh Wolfram (Vernon, BC). With a narrow 20-19 lead to start the second quarter the Timberwolves continued to work the ball inside, outscoring the WolfPack 16-4 in the paint, but TRU had their own answer from behind the arc. The WolfPack shot an impressive 50 percent from the three-point line to keep them close. At half UNBC held a five-point lead, 37-32.

The third quarter saw the two teams trade runs. A technical foul called on Timberwolves head coach Todd Jordan kicked off the WolfPacks 7-0 run which was put to an end when Michael Smith (Brampton, ON) hit a three. The change in momentum sent UNBC on their own 9-0 run to regain the lead. Elliott hit a buzzer-beater jumper at the end of the quarter putting the Twolves up 59-55 heading into the final stretch.

Throughout the fourth quarter UNBC maintained a narrow lead, working their way to an eight point advantage over the WolfPack. With two minutes left to play a huge dunk from Kouagnia seemed to snap the WolfPack back into the game. Outside shooting enabled TRU to close the gap. Pribilsky was a problem for the Twolves' defence down the stretch, hitting a three late in the game to bring TRU within one. A missed opportunity put the ball back in the WolfPack's hands. A foul sent Pribilsky to the line where he sank both, finishing the game a perfect 7-7 from the line. With only 10 seconds remaining on the clock the WolfPack held their first lead of the fourth quarter at 81-80. With the clock ticking down, the ball ended up with fourth year guard Michael Smith. Smith put up a long three, hitting nothing but net with 1.9 seconds left on the clock. A half court attempt from the WolfPack came up short giving the Timberwolves a 83-81 victory at the final buzzer.

The UNBC Timberwolves and the TRU WolfPack will meet again tomorrow night. The game is set to tip off at the Northern Sport Centre at 7:00 p.m