The VIU Mariners teams are playoff bound and pretty much playoff ready. The important thing to do now is not to let up.
Vancouver Island University’s men’s and women’s basketball teams play their final home games of the season this Friday (Feb. 14) and Saturday at the VIU gym, hosting the Langara Falcons and the Douglas Royals, respectively.
The men’s M’s (14-4) had a bit of a lull bookending the Christmas holidays, but have won four straight.
“Your seasons are going to go through some peaks and valleys,” said Matt Kuzminski, the team’s coach. “Our goal is to be as good as we can by the end of the season, which is coming up quite quick and I think we’re trending in that area.”
The coach said he really thinks his guys are learning how to win.
“We’re learning what kind of shots we want to get, how to get stops,” Kuzminski said. “So we feel pretty good going forward. We just need to keep getting better.”
Clayton Billett, Mariners guard, said players feel as though the team is taking the right direction.
“This is the best time to play your best basketball…” Billett said. “We’re just going to keep trying to get better every day and hopefully play our best basketball in the playoffs when it matters.”
VIU’s men’s basketball team scored a pair of convincing wins over the long weekend., defeating the Capilano Blues 80-67 on Friday and then handling the Quest Kermodes 83-64 on Saturday. VIU’s undefeated women’s squad (18-0) was also strong, beating Cap 69-53 and getting past Quest 70-58. Recaps of the games were posted earlier this week at www.nanaimobulletin.com.
GAME ON … It’s the last week of court sports in the VIU gym, as the Mariners volleyball teams host the Camosun Chargers tonight (Feb. 13) at 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. … VIU’s basketball teams host Langara on Friday at 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. and Douglas on Saturday at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m.
sports@nanaimobulletin.com
