VANCOUVER - The No. 4 UBC Thunderbirds opened their 2018 best-of-three Canada West quarter-final men's basketball series with a total team effort and convincing 106-74 win over the visiting Manitoba Bisons on Thurs., Feb. 15.

It was just one year ago in this same quarter-final series that the 'Birds dropped back-to-back games against the visiting Bisons, so redemption was on the forefront of many of the returning players minds. Against that backdrop and after a bye week it was a slightly uneven first few minutes of the first quarter that saw the T-Birds trailing 5-0 early but the hosts quickly started executing and never looked back the rest of the way.

The Thunderbirds would find their focus and started pushing the pace in transition to open a 22-18 lead at the end of the first. Setting the tone was fifth-year forward Conor Morgan who picked up 12 of his game high 21 points and five of his game high 11 rebounds in the frame. For the Bisons, it was forward Dharmjit Dhillon leading the way with eight points on the strength of shooting three for four from the field and included him hitting two of his game high four three point shots. Forward James Wagner also chipped in with seven points for Manitoba.

Morgan would add seven more points in the second quarter with the highlite being one of his thee monster dunks on the night, spinning baseline and going sky high for the flush. First-year guard Mason Bourcier added five of his eight points on the evening while guard Rashawn Browne led the visitors with five points in the frame. Of note Bisons guard Justice Alleyn who led the Canada West in scoring during the regular season was unable to find his rhythm on the night, failing to score a first half point going 0-for-9 on his field goal attempts.

The 'Birds would enjoy a 46-32 advantage at the break and the third quarter saw the hosts depth come to the forefront and become a theme the rest of the way in outscoring Manitoba 35-21. With Morgan taking most of the third quarter off it was first-year forward Grant Shephard stepping in with nine of his 17 points on the night, which included him making his one three-point attempt. Fifth-year guard Phil Jalalpoor also made his presence felt with 10 of his 17 points in the game, helping his cause by hitting two of his three shots from beyond the arc. Third-year guard Taylor Browne added seven points for the T-Birds. For Manitoba, it was forward Cameron O'Hara that established himself in the paint by scoring 11 of his team high 16 points in the frame ahead of finishing with an impressive 7-for-8 from the floor.

The fourth quarter saw Jalalpoor pour in seven more points while Shephard added five more to each finish with 17 points. Also chipping in was first-year guard Grant Audu with six of his 12 points for the hosts who received 43 points from their bench as opposed to the Bisons who counted just five points off the bench. Bisons leading scorer O'Hara fouled out of the game in the fourth quarter while Dhillon and Wagner finished with 16 points each. Alleyn would earn all eight of his points in the final quarter and finished the night 3-for-18 from the floor.

The Thunderbirds and Bisons meet for game two of the best-of-three quarter-final series on Friday, Feb. 16 night with a 4 p.m. PT tip off at UBC's War Memorial Gym.