PACWEST MBB Gold Medal - Royals v. Mariners
It's a battle of the titans for PACWEST gold on Saturday night
#2 VIU Mariners vs. #1 Douglas Royals - Saturday February 29, 8:00pm | WATCH HERE
It’s the third consecutive season these two powerhouses meet in the gold medal game and today is the rubber match. Last season the Mariners won in dramatic fashion in overtime and went onto win the CCAA national championship. In 2018 the Royals took down the top seeded Mariners on their own floor and proceeded to win a national silver medal.
With their success on the national stage the PACWEST received two entries into this year’s national championship tournament so both know they are going to the big dance regardless of what happens today. One team will be the Conference champion with a better seeding, while the other will be a PACWEST wildcard entry.
During the regular season these two teams have been the best in the Conference. The Royals only set back came at the hands of the Mariners, who lost twice this year, both times to the Royals.
Last night the Royals offence exploded to score 102 points in their semi-final win over the Camosun Chargers to get to this gold medal game. The Mariners win wasn’t as easy against a hardnosed and stubborn Okanagan Coyotes squad who pushed the defending champs to the brink. However the veteran Mariners eventually won by eight.
Today’s championship game has all the makings of a classic, high speed, high scoring match-up. Despite both already qualifying for the nationals, neither team wants to lose to the other in this PACWEST finale.
Head to Head
Records – Royals 17-1 – Mariners 16-2
Points Per Game – Royals 97.2 – Mariners 94.7
Field Goal % - Royals 46.8% - Mariners 46.3%
Scoring Leaders – Courtney Anderson – 18.9 points per game (Royals) – Cameron Gay – 19.7 points per game (Mariners)
Rebounding Leaders – Reese Morris – 8.1 a game (Royals) – Tyus Barfoot – 10.8 a game (Mariners)