As the half-way point of the 2025-26 season draws closer, Todd Jordan's club has already faced a full season's worth of adversity. And yet despite some key injuries and hard-luck close losses, the TWolves are still just two wins shy of a share of fifth in the division.

Last weekend in Abbotsford the Timberwolves dropped a pair of games to the UFV Cascades. In both games last weekend, the TWolves were without the services of the leading scorer in Canada, Evgeny Baukin - who was sidelined with an upper-body injury. Baukin's exact return date remains unknown, which means the remaining group of players will be called upon to give the defending national champs from Victoria a run for their money.

"Facing the number two ranked team in Canada is a challenge we are all excited about. Our team has shown that we can we compete with anybody, and having our home crowd behind us will be a big factor," shared second-year guard Danilo Gonzalez who stepped into the starting lineup last weekend at UFV and played a season-high 24 minutes on Saturday night.

Veterans Justin Sunga, Haukur Davidsson and Tony Kibonge will all need to play a big part in any success that comes UNBC's way this weekend, while younger players like Gonzalez, Isaiah Bias, Miller Davies and Milan Pasquale will all need to take advantage of their opportunities when they present themselves.

The Vikes are averaging a league-high 89.4 points-per-game with fourth-year Duncan, B.C. product Shadynn Smid leading the charge with 15.0 points-per-game and an average of 5.4 rebounds. Three other Vikes: Ethan Boag, Geoffrey James and Renaldo Robison are averaging double-figures offensively.
 
Friday night is Nats'ilnik Day at the NSC, and Saturday is the first annual "Warm Up the North" Night, where fans are encouraged to bring new or gently used winter clothing items to donate. Anyone who donates receives free admission to both games that night. Tip off Friday goes at 8, and Saturday's game starts at 7:00 pm.