B.C. basketball player records two rare triple-doubles back-to-back

Mason Bourcier has done it again.

On Saturday, Jan. 22, playing against the University of the Fraser Valley (UFV) Cascades, the 6’4” fourth-year guard from Kelowna notched his second triple-double in as many games for Langley’s Trinity Western University Spartans, scoring 16 points, 12 rebounds, and 12 assists.

Bourcier was also a standout on defence, making four steals.

However, with all five UFV starters scoring 11 or more points, Cascades cruised to their fifth victory of the 2021-22 season, downing the Spartans 102-88.

READ ALSO: VIDEO: Trinity Western University’s Bourcier records first official triple-double

For Bourcier, it was his second triple-double in two days, following Friday’s performance against UFV, when he posted 15 points, 12 rebounds and 13 assists on Jan. 21 to record the first official triple-double in TWU program history and the 18th triple-double in Canada West conference history on the way to a 97-87 victory.

Bourcier also tied TWU’s single-game assist record.

In the wake of Saturday’s game he was named Spartan Male Athlete of the Week and Canada West Men’s Basketball Athlete of the Week.

MBB I Take a bow, Mason Bourcier!

Mason is the Spartan Male Athlete of the Week, presented by @ApplewoodAuto!

Bourcier dropped back-to-back triple-doubles in TWU’s weekend series against UFV.

📰 : https://t.co/2Ky6isKyu1#SpartanOfTheWeek x #TWUBasketball pic.twitter.com/aK8y0SpCgH

— TWU Spartans (@TWUSpartans) January 25, 2022

Bourcier credited his fellow Spartans for making it possible.

“The way our team plays allows me to have a lot of freedom on both offence and defence,” Bourcier commented.

“Since we’re a smaller team, I get a lot of opportunities to get rebounds, and push the pace for us to have more possessions. The way our offence runs, and the way I play to my strengths, gives me a lot of opportunity to get assists and rebounds.”

READ ALSO: VIDEO: Langley’s Trinity Western University Spartans make it eight wins in a row

Triple-doubles are rare.

In the NBA, out of 72,798 games played, there have been only 1,242 triple-doubles, just 1.7 percent, where a player scored at least ten points in three of five categories in one game (points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocked shots).

Only 9.1 per cent of all NBA players have recorded a single triple-double, barely half recording more than one, and only 29 with more than 10.

Bourcier’s teammate Ja’Qualyn Gilbreath achieved the same feat in the 2019-20 season against UBC, on Jan. 9, 2020, but it wasn’t counted after he was declared ineligible.

At the time, the university issued a statement revealing Gilbreath was not eligible to play, under a rule that states when a “student-athlete is not a Canadian citizen or does not have permanent resident status in Canada,” they are not allowed to play for “365 days from the date that the athlete last participated in the sport.”

It was described as an “administrative error.”