Mariners Face Trojans

The PACWEST champion VIU Mariners will tip off the CCAA National Championship on Thursday when they face the ACAC champion SAIT Trojans (Calgary) at 3:00pm PST.

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The Mariners are making their fourth trip to the nationals in five seasons. The last time they attended the championship tournament was in 2017 and they did in fact match up with the Trojans in the bronze medal semi-final game. The Mariners came out victorious 91-85 and moved onto the bronze medal game.

During the PACWEST championship game the Mariners came back to beat the Douglas Royals in overtime thanks to a game tying basket scored by Ty Barfoot with 1.8 seconds left off an inbounds play.

All season long the PACWEST champs have been led by Player of the Year Harry Fayle who consistently averaged 19.5 points a game. Landon Radliff played in 12 of the Mariners 18 games and averaged an incredible 26.1 points a game to win the PACWEST scoring title.

The Trojans won the ACAC for the third straight season with an 11 point win over the Concordia Thunder after an impressive 20-1 record during the regular season. Offensively they are led by guard John Smith who averaged 23.9 points a game, second most in the ACAC. He shot 41% from the field and 35% from downtown. Ian Tevis was also solid in the backcourt averaging 18.9 points a game and led the ACAC with 60 steals.

This will be the third all-time meeting between these two schools. Prior to the 2017 showdown, they met in 1996 with the Trojans winning 66-64.

The Mariners will be seeking their third CCAA gold medal winning in 2013 and 1994, while the Trojans are hoping for their third winning back in 1982 and 1986.

Head to Head:

Records: Mariners 16-2 – Trojans 20-1

Average Points Per Game: Mariners 96.2 – Trojans 97.6

Field Goal %: Mariners 96.2% - Trojans 43.4%

Leading Scorers: Landon Radliff – 26.1 points per game (Mariners) – John Smith – 23.9 points per game (Trojans)

Leading Rebounders: Tyus Barfoot – 9.7 a game (Mariners) – Charlie Conner – 7.2 a game (Trojans)