The VIU Mariners lost a heart-breaker on home court, 62-61 to the Dynamiques de Brébeuf. The VIU men went down 16-4 early in the first quarter, but rallied to go into halftime up 39-32. They failed to score in the dying seconds of the fourth quarter despite being in the offensive zone, including a missed layup from guard Winston Cole with 10 seconds left.
Aven Allana came up with 24 points to pace the champions. Julius Ferguson accounted for 13 points and 7 rebounds for the Dynamiques. VIU guard Keyonte Beals (6'3''-G) led the team in scoring with 18 points. Senior forward Kai Leighton (6'4''-F) led the team with 13 rebounds. Beals, Cole and forward Markus Modrovic (6'4''-F) were named first-team all-stars from VIU. Matt Kuzminski, VIU men’s head coach, said the M’s offence “got stagnant” in the third and fourth quarters. He also lamented the fact his team committed 17 turnovers, something that plagued them in their opening against the Lethbridge Kodiaks.
“We stopped executing our cutting and attacking game and definitely [settled too much for] threes, so that hurt us, for sure,” the coach said. “Turnovers definitely felt significant. That hurts, that’s extra possessions and to win these games at the end of the year, you have to eliminate those mistakes, and we just probably weren’t able to do enough of them.” It was Kuzminski’s last game behind the bench and said addressing the team with his post-game speech was special. “All you can say at this time of year is just how much they mean to you, how much getting to coach them means to me, how much I love how they’re role models for my son … then to my fellow coaches, it’s been the honour of a lifetime coaching with them. The things I love most about VIU are the people I get to work with, the players, the coaches and the staff.” For Ryan Bastian, VIU guard and Ladysmith native, the tourney was a chance to play for a national title in front of family and friends, something he relished. “There were 1,200 people out here every game,” said Bastian. “The energy was insane. They carried us. At times, we went on runs. Other teams went on runs. Being able to do it in front of my family was an amazing thing. There was a whole section there and I know for the guys from the Islands, it’s the same things, it was just an amazing experience.” Bastian said he would miss being coached by Kuzminski. “I haven’t been coached by anybody else other than Matt for the last [few] years and the things he’s taught me, not only about basketball, but off the court as a human being, confidence, resilience, drive. It’s just been an amazing experience 100 per cent,” said Bastian. In the women’s semifinal on March 19, VIU defeated the Géants de Saint-Jean 62-56 with Sammy Shields, VIU guard, leading with 16 points. The men earned a berth in their tournament’s title game, defeating the defending champion Humber Hawks 81-60. Modrovic had a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds in the game. The women opened up their CCAA national championship campaign on March 18, defeating the St. Thomas Tommies 56-41. Forward Kaia Simpson came off the bench and led all VIU scorers with 14 points. Guard Mackenzie Cox led VIU in assists with six and top rebounder was Thorn, with six boards. The men opened the CCAA tournament with 75-63 win over Lethbridge on March 18 – Beals led the team with 24 points.
Courtesy of: lakecowichangazette.com