Home-court advantage wasn’t enough for the Kwantlen Polytechnic University (KPU) Eagles basketball program to get their first victory of the PACWEST (Pacific Western Athletic Association) season.
Playing at the Surrey campus of KPU, the men’s team fell 99-78 to the Langara Falcons Friday night, then lost 101-53 Saturday to the Quest Kermodes of Squamish.
The young Eagles team, which had six first-year players in their lineup against the Falcons, fell behind 29-20 after one quarter and 57-45 at halftime.
Four Eagles scored in double digits. Moeiz Athaya netted 18 points, Spencer Maichin added 14, Jaiten Rana scored 13 and Devin Cvitaznovich tallied 12. Semiahmoo Secondary graduate Greg Saourine of White Rock was the game’s top rebounder with nine. Maichin and Rana are Delview Secondary graduates, and are two of just three Eagles that are not in their rookie season in the PACWEST.
Against the Keromodes, the outmanned Eagles had just seven players in the lineup, Kyanith Thapa and Saourine each had 10 points to pace KPU, with Saourine adding 10 rebounds for a double double.
In Friday’s women’s game, the Falcons jumped to a 25-10 lead after 10 minutes and never looked back on their way to a 74-54 victory.
Christina Brown scored 19 points with Panorama Ridge graduate Aliya Senghera, a third-year guard, adding 10. Desiree Lister contributed with eight points and a 10 rebounds.
The Eagles also lost to the Quest Kermodes 62-51 Saturday.
KPU stayed close to the Quest team for much of the first half Saturday, trailing 13-12 after one quarter and 32-25 at the half. But the Kermodes’ lead grew to 13 points after three-quarters, putting the game out of reach.
Senghera paced Kwantlen with 17 points, with Christina Brown adding 10. Desiree Lister netted seven points and grabbed a dozen rebounds.
Both KPU teams will be in Abbotsford Saturday to play the Columbia Bible College Bearcats.
