PacWest Week 3 Power Rankings

Kwanlten’s rookie guard Obi Udevi was one of the lone bright spots for Kwantlen on Saturday against Douglas. – Brian Jones Photo

This past weekend was devoid of upsets and surprises around the PacWest, as the giants still stand tall, but the race for fifth place is heating up.

The top half of this week’s rankings remains unchanged, as Vancouver Island University Mariners and Langara College Falcons both swept their respective doubleheaders, while the Quest University Kermodes and Capilano University Blues each split their island road trip.

VIU is still the only undefeated team in the PacWest after picking up a 76-65 win over Quest on Friday then drumming Cap 80-58 on Saturday.

Langara easily handled the Kwantlen Polytechnic University Eagles and Columbia Bible College Bearcats, breaking the triple-digit mark in both bouts and averaging a 47-point margin of victory over the weekend. The Falcons’ loss in Week 2 to Quest may have been exactly what they needed, because adding a tally to Langara’s loss column is like trying to put out a house fire with gasoline.

Continue reading at North Pole Hoops.

Andrew Baron: Relishing the opportunity

Kristian Hlldebrandt picking up teammate Andrew Baron. – Brian Jones Photo

Around this time two years ago, Andrew Baron was averaging less than 10 minutes per game for the Douglas College Royals. He was a rookie on a team with an abundance of third and fourth-year players, and he was nervous.

After graduating from Elphinstone Secondary in 2008, Baron spent three years unsure of what direction he wanted to steer his life into. He knew that he wanted to play basketball at the collegiate level. He also knew that he was very capable of doing so after a stellar career at Elphinstone.

But life has a way of, well, getting in the way.

Then, in the summer of 2010, Baron contacted Denis Beausoleil – the newly-hired basketball coach at Douglas. That correspondence turned into informal summer league games. Those runs in August translated into tryouts, and those tryouts manifested into a spot on the roster.

But it was quickly realized that wearing a jersey and having his name inked on the pregame programs didn’t guarantee any sort of smooth sailing.

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PacWest Week 2 Power Rankings

Falcons forward Elliot Mason looks to break ankles out on the wing. – Brian Jones Photo

Capilano head coach Dwayne Selby summed up the crazy finishes and surprising blowouts around the PacWest this past weekend:

“There’s a lot of parity in the league right now. Our league is up for grabs, and I told my guys that if you don’t show up to play every single night, anyone can beat you.”

Selby’s words have been identical to what almost every other coach in the league has been preaching since preseason.

VIU is the only squad still standing with an unblemished record, but they’ve been lobbed softballs thus far, beating Camosun, Kwantlen and CBC (the bottom three teams in the league) by an average of 25.7 points. The Mariners will face their biggest challenge when they host Quest and Capilano next weekend.

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Capilano holds off late charge to squeeze by Douglas

Blues point guard Tony Rowe adjusts under the outstretched arm of Douglas forward Ryan Hopson. – Brian Jones Photo

The mood was subdued, a few heads were hanging, and customary post-game handshakes were scaled back to a minimum.

Based on the player reactions, if you hadn’t watched the previous 40 minutes of gameplay, you would have never guessed who just suppressed a massive comeback to grind out a four-point victory.

Although a win is a win, some taste a little less sweet than others.

The Capilano University Blues clung to the last remnants of 17-point halftime lead to hold off the Douglas College Royals 76-72 on Saturday, November 9 at Capilano’s Sportsplex in North Vancouver.

The coach echoed his players’ temperament.

“I was really disappointed. I thought we had taken some good steps last night, in terms of learning how to play with a more consistent effort, but I think we regressed tonight,” said Blues bench boss Dwayne Selby.

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Langara beats Capilano at home to remain undefeated early

Langara centre Jitinder Lohcham attacks inside. Lohcham finished the night with 25 points, eight rebounds and six blocks. – Brian Jones Photo

During the halftime break of last night’s game between Langara and Capilano, I walked out of the gym and down the corridor of Capilano’s Sportsplex to the washroom. As I made my way past Langara’s team room, I noticed the entire roster of players sitting on chairs in a semi-circle facing a wall, as if attentively listening to a lecture.

At first, I assumed that head coach Paul Eberhardt was going over what needed work as they headed into the second half with a marginal 43-39 lead over Capilano, but when I turned back to look in the gym, I saw Eberhardt and his assistants gathered back at the team’s bench, going over the stat sheet and relevant clipboards.

It wasn’t a coach that had the player’s attention in the team room – it was an orange jersey-ed Falcon. I couldn’t quite see who was talking, as my view was obstructed by the poster-plastered windows, but Eberhardt had a pretty good clue.

“I would expect [Glenn] Ruby to be the voice in the room, I would expect him to stand up at that time,” said Eberhardt. “But it’s been really interesting this year, as I’ve noticed that all of the veterans are doing of teaching with our younger guys. Last year it was irritating because I didn’t think they talked enough. But they’ve definitely embraced that this year.”

Whether it was the third-year utility player from Clayton Heights leading the halftime pep-talk or not, whatever was said certainly carried over into the second half.

Continue reading at North Pole Hoops.

PacWest Week 1 Recap and Power Rankings

The college basketball season is upon us!

The PacWest kicked off regular season play this weekend with each team playing one game apiece, and while there were no thrilling victories or buzzer-beater finishes, it gave everyone a chance to crank it up a notch from the preseason.

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Ram leads Kwantlen past CBC in home opener

Kwantlen guard Aaron Ram lays in two of his game-high 38 points on Friday night versus Columbia Bible College. – Matt Bossons Photo

It’s always hard to gain a quality perspective on a team after just their first game of the season – especially when it’s against a perennial bottom-feeder – so I’m going to try not to jump to any quick conclusions.

But on Friday night, the Kwantlen Polytechnic University Eagles impressed a packed house with a 100-89 win over the Columbia Bible College Bearcats.

Aaron Ram led all scorers with 38 points on 14 for 27 shooting, including three from long range and 7-8 from the charity stripe.

“I know he had a really good game, but in my mind, I expected that,” said Kwantlen head coach Stefon Wilson. “It’s his third year, he’s a good player, so I expected him to play well. He won’t statistically play like that every night, but he hit some shots, and I expected him to have the game he did.”

Continue reading at North Pole Hoops.