Men Tip-Off Championship

The top six men's teams are ready for the 2020 PACWEST Championship tournament which opens at 3:00pm on Thursday on the campus of Capilano University.

#1 Douglas Royals

For the first time since 2007 the Royals are the top seed heading into the PACWEST basketball championship and have a bye into the semis.  In 2007 the Royals also won a CCAA national silver.  They will be well rested after a bye during the final weekend of the regular season.   On Friday they will face the winner of the Camosun-Langara semi-final.

PACWEST Record – 17-1
Home 8-1, Road 9-0
Points Per Game – 97.2
Field Goal % - 46.8%

Players to Watch:

#1 Courtney Anderson: For the second straight season he led the Royals in scoring averaging 18.9 points a game shooting 44% from the field.  Defensively his quick hands tallied 30 steals.

#5 Dylan Kinley: He stepped up his play this season as the only player to play and start all 18 games for the Royals.  He averaged 14.1 points a game shooing 51% from the field and led the club with 85 assists.

#8 Reese Morris: In his final PACWEST season he shot 14.6% from the field and has proven to a threat inside and outside.  He shot 59% from the field and averaged 8.1 rebounds a game.

Longest Conference winning streak: They won 10 straight games from January 12 to February 16 hitting the century mark six times.

Last FIVE Playoff Games

2019 – PACWEST Gold Medal Game – Loss – 89-82 OT VIU Mariners
2019 – PACWEST Semi-Final – Win – 99-83 Capilano Blues
2018 – CCAA Gold Medal Game – Loss – 86-73 Seneca College
2018 – CCAA Semi-Final – Win – 93-87 College Montmorency
2018 – CCAA Quarterfinal – Win – 80-76 SAIT Trojans

#2 VIU Mariners

It was another terrific season for the defending CCAA national champs losing just twice, both times to the top seeded Royals.    They ended the season winning 10 straight including an overtime thriller in the regular season finale against the Camosun Chargers forcing the extra session with a three pointer with just three seconds left in regulation.   The last time Capilano hosted the PACWEST championship tournament the Mariners left with the gold medal.

PACWEST Record – 16-2
Home 8-1, Road 8-1
Points Per Game – 94.7
Field Goal % - 46.3%

Players to Watch:

#4 Tyus Barfoot:  He’s averaging a double-double scoring 16 points and grabbing 10.8 rebounds a game. He’s shooting 55.7% from the field, has 41 steals and 51 assists.

#8 Cameron Gay: He leads the Mariners in scoring with over 19 points a game.  He’s started all 18 games in the regular season and leads the team with 98 assists while still shooting 52% from the field.

#3 Landon Radliff: He started all 18 games in the backcourt this regular season and is averaging 18.4 points a game shooting 35% from the field.  He leads the team with 55-three pointers including hitting one with three seconds to go in regulation in their overtime win in the regular season finale.

Longest Conference winning streak: They won 10 straight games from January 18 to February 22 hitting the century mark five times.

Last FIVE Playoff Games

2019 – CCAA Gold Medal Game – Win – 85-82 Sheridan Bruins
2019 – CCAA Semi-Final – Win – 102-84 – SAIT Trojans
2019 – CCAA Quarterfinal – Win – 85-83 – Vanier College
2019 – PACWEST Gold Medal Game – Win - 89-82 OT Douglas Royals
2019 – PACWEST Semi-Final – Win – 90-67 Camosun Chargers

#3 Okanagan Coyotes

Of the PACWEST teams the Coyotes have made the largest improvement from last year when they finished as the #6 seed.  This year they are seeded third and will play the host #6 Capilano Blues in Thursday’s quarterfinal at the PACWEST championship tournament in a rematch of last year’s quarterfinal.  They come into the playoffs winners of five in a row and haven’t lost in the month of February.   They are 2-1 against the Blues this season winning their last meeting by just two points.

PACWEST Record – 10-8
Home 5-4, Road 5-4
Points Per Game – 82.5
Field Goal % - 39.7%

Players to Watch:

#3 Eric Marbury: He led the Coyotes averaging 15.7 points a game shooting 42% from the field.  He also led the team with 101 assists and 27 steals as their starting point guard.

#10 Matt Lafontaine: For the second straight year he has been a major factor of the Coyotes success.  He averaged 14.2 points a game and shot 32% from downtown, connecting on 39-threes.

#8 Hunter Hughes: He gives the Coyotes a legitimate threat in the post averaging 13 points a game and doesn’t shy away from the rough stuff down low.  He averaged over six rebounds a contest and had 12 blocks over the year.

Longest Conference winning streak: They are on a 5 game winning streak coming into the PACWEST championship and are undefeated in the month of February.

Last Playoff Game

2019 – PACWEST Quarterfinal –Loss – 80-74 Capilano Blues

#4 Camosun Chargers

For the second straight season the Chargers limp into the playoffs after losing seven in a row in the month of February.   Despite the tough times last year, the Chargers pulled it together in the PACWEST championship and took home the bronze medal.  They are hoping for even more this year as their quest begins on Thursday in a quarterfinal match-up with the Langara Falcons in a rematch of last year’s post season who they beat three times this past regular season. 

PACWEST Record – 8-10
Home 4-4, Road 4-6
Points Per Game – 81.6
Field Goal % - 31.9%

Players to Watch:

#14 Shaquille Maharaj: He led the Chargers in scoring with 19.5 points a game and shot 47.2% from the field.  He also led his club with 38-three pointers and minutes played as the team’s workhorse.

#8 Atlas St. Paul-Butler:  He’s the only Charger to start and play in all 18 games this past season and averaged 11.4 points and 7.7 rebounds a game.  He shot 42.5% from the field.

#15 Isaiah Romanow: He could be the sixth man of the year coming off the bench and averaging 10.8 points a game shooting over 51% from the field.  He is an immediate impact player who is solid on the both ends of the floor.

Longest Conference winning streak: They won 5 straight games in the month of January from the 10-31^st.

Last FIVE Playoff Games

2019 – PACWEST Bronze Medal Game – Win – 83-68 Capilano Blues
2019 – PACWEST Semi-Final – Loss – 99-83 Douglas Royals
2019 – PACWEST Quarterfinal – Win – 93-91 Langara Falcons
2018 – PACWEST Bronze Medal Game – Loss – 82-71 Langara Falcons
2018 – PACWEST Semi-Final – Loss – 91-60 VIU Mariners

#5 Langara Falcons

The month of February has not been a kind one to the Falcons winning just once in six games heading into the PACWEST championship tournament.  They will face the Camosun Chargers in a PACWEST quarterfinal, like they did last season.    They made an early exit last year, but still hosted the CCAA national championship tournament.  They haven’t had much success against the Chargers this past season losing all three meetings.  They will tip-off on Thursday at 3:00pm.

PACWEST Record – 5-13
Home 2-8, Road 3-5
Points Per Game – 88.3
Field Goal % - 44%

Players to Watch:

#11 Moeitz Athaya: He won the PACWEST scoring title averaging 24.2 points game.    He also led his team with 7.4 rebounds a game.  He shot 48.7% from the field and was second on the team draining 37-three point shots.

#8 Luka Lizdek: He is a dangerous point guard hitting 53-three pointers during the regular season and averaged 19.1 points a game.  He led the PACWEST averaging 6.3 assists a game collecting 114 over the course of the season and led the Falcons with 32 steals. 

#15 Tyler Anderson: He’s a big body down low for the Falcons averaging 12.1 points a game and 7.3 rebounds.  He shot 59.2% primarily from under the basket and is a player that can change how the opposition attacks the hoop.

Longest Conference winning streak: They won 2 straight with the holiday break in the middle of it from November 23-January 10

Last FIVE Playoff Games

2019 – CCAA Quarterfinal – Loss – 120-77 Holland Hurricanes
2019 – CCAA Bronze Quarterfinal – Loss – 98-92 College Montmorency
2019 – CCAA Placement Game – Loss – 114-99 SAIT Trojans
2019 – PACWEST Quarterfinal – Loss – 93-91 Camosun Chargers
2018 – PACWEST Bronze Medal Game – Win – 82-71 Camosun Chargers

#6 Capilano Blues

They will host the PACWEST championship tournament for the first time since 2016.  It wasn't the regular season they were hoping for, but they do have some confidence winning two of their last three games coming into the post season.  They will face the #3 Okanagan Coyotes in Thursday night’s quarterfinal, a team they just saw on Valentine’s Day when they lost by just two points.   Overall they finished 1-2 against the Coyotes in the regular season. They'll tip-off at 8:00pm.

PACWEST Record – 5-13
Home 3-6, Road 2-7
Points Per Game – 76.6
Field Goal % - 39.4%

Players to Watch:

#8 CJ Campbell: He led the Blues averaging 17.6 points a game, shooting 36.4% from the field.   He can run the offence or stay on the wing, causing match-up issues for the opposition.

#7 Nathan Bromige:  He’s the only Blue to play in and start each of their 18 regular season games.  He averaged 12.8 points and 7.8 rebounds a game and led his team with 51 assists.

#23 Martin Bogajev: He joined the Blues following the exam break playing in only 10 games, but is an offensive threat.  He was the Blues point guard in 2016 when the Blues hosted this event last.  He averaged 17.6 points and connected on 31-three pointers and shot 35.1% from the field.

Longest Conference winning streak: They didn’t win back to back games all season.

Last FIVE Playoff Games

2019 – PACWEST Bronze Medal Game – Loss – 83-68 Camosun Chargers
2019 – PACWEST Semi-Final – Loss – 99-83 Douglas Royals
2019 – PACWEST Quarterfinal – Win – 80-74 Okanagan Coyotes
2018 – PACWEST Quarterfinal – Loss – 71-69 Camosun Chargers
2017 – PACWEST Gold Medal Game – Loss – 94-77 VIU Mariners