Basketball: T-Birds sixth man won't dress vs. Dal

One big teeup from Howard Tsumura's Vancouver Province teeup of UBC's first-round game vs. Dalhousie (2:30 p.m., citr.ca and SSN Canada): Guard Blain Labranche "will not play Friday and is doubtful Saturday" due to a foot ailment.

Labranche is UBC's instant offence guy, one of the country's best sixth men. He is averaging 11.3 points in 20.2 minutes this season and is second on the Thunderbirds in three-point (.385) and free-throw percentage (.829). It means UBC is without a shooter should it start trading three-pointers with Dalhousie, which has shooters in Josh Beattie and Yannick Walcott, among others. That phrase "trap game" is hanging in the air, although UBC is odds-on favourite to advance to Saturday night.

Related:
Loose but confident, Birds look for elusive first-round win Friday vs. Dalhousie at CIS nats (Howard Tsumura, Little Man on Campus)