Steve Stinson in action against the UBCO Heat on Jan. 10, 2026. (Image Credit: Alessandro Boggio/Thymos Capture via TRU WolfPack)

By Victor Kaisar

Canada West Basketball

TRU basketball teams beat UBCO in Saturday rematch at TCC

Jan 11, 2026 | 9:29 AM

KAMLOOPS — A winning Saturday for the Thompson Rivers (TRU) WolfPack basketball teams at the Tournament Capital Centre in Kamloops.

The men beat the UBCO Heat 86-82 for their 10th win of the season as they completed the weekend sweep of the Heat. It’s the first time that TRU has won 10 games in a season since they did so in both the 2014-15 and 2015-16 seasons.

Jayden Stephens and Steve Stinson led the WolfPack with 22 points each. Stinson also grabbed six rebounds while Dami Farinloye added 15 points and five steals.

UBCO’s Jalen Shirley set a new program record as he went 15-18 from the floor – including 5-7 from long-range – to lead all scorers with 43 points.

The 10-4 WolfPack men remain in third place in the Pacific Division, as they trail the 10-2 UBC Thunderbirds and the 11-2 UVic Vikes with six games left to play. UBC has eight games left while Victoria has seven.

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The WolfPack women also bounced back Saturday with a 53-45 win over the Heat as they picked up the weekend split, following a blowout loss on Friday night.

Sydney Vollrath went a perfect 8-8 from the free throw line en route to a game-high 17 points, while Olena Vasylenko added 13 points, 10 of which came in the second half. Hailey Merrigan grabbed a career-high 14 rebounds while Morgan Eichenberger added nine points and eight rebounds.

The TRU women are 6-8, and tied with the Fraser Valley Cascades and Victoria Vikes for fourth place in the Pacific Division, though the latter two teams both have a game in hand.

While TRU was able to end UBCO’s ten game winning streak over the WolfPack, they weren’t able to prevent their Kelowna rivals from winning the women’s President’s Cup. The trophy is awarded each year to the school with the best head-to-head record in basketball, volleyball, and soccer.

The TRU and UBCO women tied with a record of 3-3-1, though the Heat retained the trophy as they won the points-for tie breaker. The TRU women also won both volleyball games this season, while UBCO won two basketball games and one soccer game.

The other women’s soccer game ended in a 0-0 tie.

The WolfPack will wrap up their home basketball schedule next weekend, when they face the UFV Cascades in a rare Thursday night (Jan. 15) match before hosting the UBC Thunderbirds on Saturday.