Robinson finishes strong
Spartans triumph over SFU, finish season with win
February 20, 2008
Evan Menzies
By now, most people are aware that the 2007-2008 season, both on and off the court, was nothing short of a disaster for the Spartans men’s basketball team. Thus, playing their final game of the season on Feb. 8 on the road against a competitive Simon Fraser University Clan, a Spartan loss seemed pretty predictable. However, fighting against the odds, Trinity Western University proved the cynics wrong. The Spartans battled hard and came out on top with a solid 92-80 victory over the SFU Clan on their Burnaby mountain campus.
Spartans guard Luke Robinson, who was playing his final game in a Spartans uniform, had a huge game. He led both teams with 25 points and eight assists.
Before entering the season finale, the Clan were riding a two game win streak versus the Spartans and were hoping to build on their recent success. From the start of the game, SFU seemed to be right on track as they jumped to a quick 10-4 lead.
From that point on, however, TWU turned it around. Robinson exploded offensively, starting off by nailing back-to-back jumpers and eventually giving the Spartans their first lead of the game (11-10).
After the first quarter, SFU led by a 21-17 margin, but from the start of the second, TWU played a very tight defensive game while cranking up the offense at the same time. As a result, the Spartans outscored the Clan by a convincing 23-11 count and took a 40-32 lead into the third quarter.
With no intentions of slowing down, TWU continued to roll and led 69-53 by the end of the third.
SFU responded in the final frame sinking 27 points of their own. But it was too little, too late as the Spartans upset the Clan in their own building by a 92-80 count.
It was a solid end to Robinson’s career as he not only led the Spartans with 25 points, but hit 8-of-14 field goal attempts, was 7-for-12 in free throws, and sunk 2-of-3 three pointer attempts. Robinson also led both teams with eight assists.
TWU’s Joe Vroom of Abbotsford, B.C. had a good game as well, compiling 17 points while adding two assists of his own. Nolan Holmes of Victoria, B.C. led the way offensively for the Clan, scoring 20 points and five rebounds.
The Spartans completed a rough season on a positive note, but still finish the season with a dismal 4-19 record. Only Thompson Rivers University (2-21), and the University of Lethbridge (2-20) finished lower than TWU in Canada West standings.
As for Robinson, the 6-foot-3 Ahousat, B.C. native played in all 23 of his team’s games this season and finished 11th in points per game among Canada West players and 31st overall with 16.70.
Now you go...
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