Saturday night at the Northern Sport Centre, the UNBC Timberwolves (2-12) fell 81-71 to the visiting Fraser Valley Cascades (9-6). Dario Lopez and Marcus Flores each recorded double-doubles for UFV while Chris Ainsley set a new career high in points with 23 for UNBC. In the third quarter, UNBC fourth-year point guard Justin Sunga became the program's all-time assists leader when he recorded his 269th career assist off a Tony Kibonge three-pointer.
The opening quarter set the tone for a tightly contested battle, with UFV edging ahead 15–13 after the first 10 minutes. Bennett O'Connor paced the Cascades early, collecting five points while adding three rebounds and two assists. Marcus Flores anchored the defensive effort for the visitors, pulling down a team-high four rebounds in the opening frame. UNBC stayed within striking distance behind Chris Ainsley, who answered with five points of his own, while Sunga dished out his first two assists of the night. Tony Kibonge, Isaiah Bias, Miller Davies, and Danilo Gonzalez also chipped in offensively for the Timberwolves in the quarter.
The second quarter featured end-to-end action, as UNBC narrowly outscored UFV 21–20. Despite the push from the hosts, the Cascades carried a slim 35–34 advantage into the halftime break. Ainsley continued to find his rhythm for UNBC, pouring in eight more points to lead his team with 13 at the half. Sunga added another assist, moving him to within two of a new UNBC program record with 20 minutes still to play. UFV leaned on a balanced offensive approach, with nine different players scoring in the first half, though O'Connor led the way with seven points while also topping the Cascades in rebounding with six.
The third quarter featured a historic moment for the Timberwolves. Fans didn't have to wait long for Sunga to etch his name into the UNBC record books, as he delivered a record-breaking assist with 4:12 remaining in the period. Inbounding the ball from the baseline, Sunga found Tony Kibonge wide open in the left corner, and Kibonge calmly buried the three-pointer to make Sunga the all-time assists leader in UNBC Timberwolves history, surpassing Vova Pluzhnikov's previous mark of 268.
The milestone moment briefly energized the hosts, but UFV quickly steadied themselves and responded with a strong stretch of play. The Cascades outscored UNBC 30–18 in the quarter, repeatedly answering Timberwolves runs to maintain control heading into the final frame. Marcus Flores led the charge for UFV, erupting for 12 points in the third quarter alone to give him a team-high 18 through three. For UNBC, Chris Ainsley continued his standout performance, sitting at 19 points and leading all scorers with 10 minutes remaining.
UNBC made one final push in the fourth quarter, outscoring UFV 19–16 over the final 10 minutes, but the earlier Cascades surge proved too much to overcome. Chris Ainsley, who had already surpassed his previous career high in the third quarter, added four more points to close his night with a game-high 23. The sophomore rounded out his performance with seven rebounds and three assists.
With the pressure off after setting the program assists record, Sunga continued to facilitate down the stretch, dishing out three more helpers to finish with seven points and a game-high nine assists. Despite the late Timberwolves push, UFV's frontcourt duo of Marcus Flores and Dario Lopez provided the stability the visitors needed. Flores delivered a double-double with 22 points and 11 rebounds, while Lopez added 14 points and 12 boards of his own to keep the Cascades firmly in control.
When the final horn sounded, UFV secured the road victory by an 81–71 margin.
