Vancouver Island University’s men’s basketball team took two more steps on its inexorable march to a perfect season.
The Mariners (20-0) blew out two more PacWest opponents on the mainland, beating Columbia Bible College 105-79 on Friday and then nearly doubling Kwantlen Polytechnic 114-58 on Saturday.
Matt Kuzminski, Mariners coach, said his team brought a high-level effort to try to make the most of a game against an over-matched opponent.
“You have to,” he said. “We tried to work on a few different situational type things and we got to see different rotations, different guys, how they were working with different lineups.”
A highlight was the performance by M’s star Josh Ross on Saturday. The two-time reigning PacWest Athlete of the Week scored 44 points, adding 17 rebounds and nine assists.
“The enthusiasm and the competitiveness he brings to practice and games … and the ability he has to make his teammates better with his passing is pretty special,” said Kuzminski.
Jason Fortin scored 20 points to go with 14 rebounds in that game.
The day before, it was Fortin leading the way with 23 points and 12 boards. Ross had 20 points and 19 boards and John Thompson scored 20.
In women’s action, VIU won both its games, too, and has now won seven straight in PacWest play to take over first place. The lady M’s handled CBC 65-43 on Friday and obliterated Kwantlen 74-30 on Saturday.
Lanae Adams scored 21 points and had 11 boards the first night, with Jamie MacFarlane scoring 17.
On Saturday, Adams scored 17 to go with 13 boards, Sienna Pollard also scored 17 and Sara Simovic had 14.
GAME ON … The final games of the PacWest season are Friday (Feb. 26), as VIU hosts the Camosun Chargers at 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. at the Vancouver Island University gym. Look for more later this week in the News Bulletin.
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