Blues Move On

By Eric Thompson | Feb. 28, 2019

The Capilano Blues held off an Okanagan onslaught on Thursday to advance to the semifinal of the 2018-19 PACWEST Men’s Basketball Championship.

Okanagan looked excellent in the first quarter, throwing up a few blocks and not allowing the Blues many good looks while generating plenty of their own, ending up with a 20-17 lead after ten minutes of play. But in the second quarter, the Blues took over, completely locking down the Coyotes defensively. The Blues held Okanagan to just 10 points in the second quarter, and put up 22 of their own to go into the half with a 39-30 lead.

Okanagan bounced back with another solid third quarter as Davide Ciancio hit a few threes and the Coyotes defence again prevented Capilano from generating their usual shots. The Coyotes won the quarter 19-16 and trailed by just two possessions at the buzzer as the quarter ended 55-49.

The Coyotes came alive once again in the early part of the fourth, closing the lead to as little as one point when Davide Ciancio launched what would’ve been a go-ahead three-point shot as the crowd held its breath, but the ball bounced off the rim. The Blues rebuilt their six-point lead with a minute left to play, and would hold it as the Blues took the match 80-74.

Taking home Player of the Game honours for Okanagan was Davide Ciancio, who went 5-for-7 from three and finished with 21 points and 5 rebounds. Brendan Bailey was named Capilano’s Player of the Game, finishing with 29 points and 6 rebounds.