The Island rivalry was more of a romp.
Vancouver Island University’s men’s and women’s basketball teams won their games against the Camosun Chargers by blowout scores on Saturday night in Victoria.
VIU’s men defeated Camo 96-63 after the M’s women won 81-50 in the early game.
Matt Kuzminski, coach of the Mariners men, said his team had a good week of practice leading into the contest.
“After kind of not playing our best basketball our last four games, we really showed some signs of improvement and focus on some of the things we’ve been working on,” he said.
Offensively, he wanted his guys to work on “attacking from the second and third side.
“We wanted to [make] sure that we make quick decisions and that the ball is really moving and players are moving. I think that helped our offence,” he said. “Defensively, I think the effort and the concentration on staying in stance was much better and we were able to force a lot of turnovers.”
Curtis Wilson led VIU with 18 points and nine rebounds, while John Thompson and Josh Ross each added 16 points.
In the women’s game, Lanae Adams just missed out on a triple-double, finishing with 19 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds. Sienna Pollard scored 14 points to go with 10 boards and Victoria Brown had 12 and 10.
VIU’s basketball teams will be back in action on home court this coming week, with matchups against the Quest Kermodes and the Langara Falcons.
The Mariners men will put their undefeated record on the line against the PacWest’s second- and third-ranked teams, respectively. Kuzminski said Quest is a big, physical opponent while Langara is a fast team that plays an up-and-down style.
“Last time when we went up to Quest and Langara, both the games went right down to the wire…” he said. “They’ll be different tests, but both games will be very challenging.”
GAME ON … The VIU women play Quest on Friday (Feb. 5) at 6 p.m., with the men’s game at 8 p.m. On Saturday, the women’s matchup is at 1 p.m. with the men taking the court at 3 p.m.
sports@nanaimobulletin.com
