Men's Basketball Week 9 Rewind

Up to The Billing

This past weekend featured a juggernaut matchup as the VIU Mariners hosted the Camosun Chargers in a battle of the PACWEST’s top two teams which resulted in a split.

Friday night the Mariners had a slight two-point lead heading into the final frame, but the Chargers outscored them 24-15 and came away with a 73-66 victory handing the Mariners their first loss of the season.

Offensively the Chargers shot 43%, predominately led by their starters with David Finch leading the way with 19 points while Izzy Helman chipped in with 16.

The Mariners on the other hand had only eight players on the roster and shot 39% from the field in their first setback. Kaeleb Johnson knocked down a game high 23 points behind three-three pointers.

On Saturday in the rematch the Mariners put together an impressive second quarter outscoring the visitors 30-19 and never looked back winning 87-73 earning the weekend split.  They shot 48% from the field with Kameron Bender putting the team on his back with a game high 30 points which included five-three pointers.

The Chargers couldn’t erase that second quarter and fell for the fourth time this year.  They shot 36.5% from the field with Helman as their leading scorer with 23.

Next weekend the Mariners (15-1) visit the Okanagan Coyotes (1-15) and the Chargers (12-4) have a bye.

Weekend Split

A pair of schools in the thick of playoff positioning put it all on the line this past weekend and each earned a win.

Friday night the Capilano Blues tamed the CBC Bearcats after a massive fourth quarter in which they outscored the visitors 21-12 on their way to an important 75-60 victory.  Their bench came alive scoring 32 of their points led by Russell Curley’s 18 points in 24 minutes.  

On the defensive side, they didn’t allow much and held the Bearcats to 26% shooting.  Dane-Dre Anglin led their offence with 17 points, seven of which came from the free-throw line.

Saturday was a bit of a different story as the Bearcats clawed back to capture a 77-71 victory. They shot 38% and Anglin was solid pacing his club with 19 points off the bench.

After his quality minutes and production off the bench on Friday, Curley got into the starting five and didn’t disappoint.  He led the home team with a double double of 16 points and 13 rebounds.

Next weekend the Blues (7-7) visit the Douglas Royals (6-8) in an important doubleheader for both teams and the Bearcats (6-10) invade the Langara Falcons (7-9).

Falcons Snap Streak

The Langara Falcons took flight early on Friday night building a 26-9 first quarter lead and never looked back beating the visiting Okanagan Coyotes 85-76.

They shot 44% in the process led by Cameron Vaughn who dropped 27 points including three-three pointers and Patrick Robinson chipped in with 14 and 10.  Defensively they forced 24 turnovers and made 12 steals keeping the Coyotes off-balance. 

The Coyotes shot 39% and saw decent production from their starters including a team high 19 from Damani Green.

During the rematch on Saturday the Falcons really soared and flew away from the Coyotes with an 85-56 win.  They shot 45% and nailed 10-three pointers with Vaughn leading the way again with 21 points.  They had production from up and down the line-up as all but one player hit the scoresheet.

Next weekend the Falcons (7-9) welcome the CBC Bearcats (6-10) and the Coyotes (1-15) host the VIU Mariners (15-1).