Men's Basketball Week 12 Rewind
The Mariners, Blues and Falcons claim a Saturday win
Men’s PACWEST basketball concluded Week 12 on Saturday with a busy three games with six schools in action.
VIU Mariners 106
Okanagan Coyotes 78
The Mariners were lethal from downtown on Saturday afternoon connecting on an eye popping 22-three pointers, shooting 51%. A total of six players nailed a three-pointer led by Levi Van Egdom who tallied seven of them and finished with 23 points.
From the field, the Mariners shot 44% with Ekman Sohal finishing with 23 points and 10 rebounds while Keyonte Beals had 18 and 11. Nine different players hit the scoresheet in the team’s 17th win of the year.
The Coyotes shot 40% in the loss but couldn’t match the sharpshooting Mariners from outside. The Coyotes recorded eight-threes compared to the 22 by the home side. Phil Holmes Jr led the pushback with 21 points and grabbed nine rebounds and Oaklen Kowal chipped in with 14 points.
Next weekend the Mariners (17-3) visit the Camosun Chargers (15-5) in a doubleheader that will determine first-place and the Coyotes (7-15) welcome the Langara Falcons (11-9).
Capilano Blues 101
Douglas Royals 61
The hometown Blues set the tone early with a 30-point first quarter and walked all over the Royals the rest of the way to a lopsided win.
The Blues shot 52% and saw a balanced offence from both their starters and players coming off the bench. Zach Klim dropped a game high 21 points on a very effective 10-12 shooting and pulled down five boards. Alfonso Reyes came off the bench to drain 15 points and grab 11 rebounds and Anthony Tamburrino added 12 as a reserve. In all, 49 of their 101 points came from the bench.
On the other side, the Royals shot 33% with Griffin White knocking down four-three pointers and finished with 16 points and Derrick Monroe added 14.
With the win the Blues (12-8) remain six points behind the Chargers for second place and two up on the Falcons for third. They will visit the CBC Bearcats (7-13) next weekend and the Royals (3-19) take their final bye of the season.
Langara Falcons 95
CBC Bearcats 92
With nine seconds left in a tied ball game, Edrielle Asirit found some room in the corner of the floor and knocked down one of his five-three pointers in the game, a bucket that would turn out to be the game winner. The Bearcats had an opportunity for the equalizer but the Falcons defence didn’t allow an easy shot and held on for the victory.
As a team they shot 43% led by Asirit’s 25 points off the bench and Patrick Robinson’s 10 and 10 double double. It was a gutsy performance on the road coming back after a rough first quarter in which they fell behind 32-21.
For the Bearcats it was their third loss in their last four games despite shooting 46%. They just couldn’t find a way to stop the surging Falcons. Daylen Webb had a game high 26 points and D’Andre Palmer Ormsby finished with 22 and seven steals.
With the win the Falcons (11-9) give themselves a bit of a cushion in fourth place but stay within two points of the third seed. Next weekend they will travel to the Okanagan to meet the Coyotes (7-15) and Bearcats (7-13) host the Capilano Blues (12-8).