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Long-range shooting helps lift VIU Mariners to undefeated fall

Mariners men’s team ranked first in Canada in college basketball
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VIU Mariners player Kameron Bender looks to take the ball to the basket against the Langara Falcons during the final game of the fall semester on Dec. 1 at the Vancouver Island University gym. (Karl Yu/News Bulletin)

The shots kept falling for the VIU Mariners in the first half of the season, and it’s led to an undefeated record and top spot in the national rankings.

Vancouver Island University’s men’s basketball team swept the Langara Falcons by scores of 101-81 and 97-64 in PacWest action at the VIU gym on Nov. 30-Dec. 1 to complete a perfect 12-0 fall semester.

The Mariners have won in a lot of different ways, but one trait they’ve exhibited is accuracy from the three-point line. Matt Kuzminski, VIU coach, said the team has sometimes even had five guys on the floor at once who can drain threes if left open. The team’s mindset is “room-and-rhythm” threes, meaning if they have space and time to set their feet, it’s a good shot.

“We’ve had to embrace it and fully commit to it and support it because for our team, those are the best shots…” the coach said. “You could have a cold-shooting night, but we’ve got to hope what we do defensively will hold up and that we’ll make enough shots, the law of averages will play out, and I think that’s happened so far.”

Hot shooting has only been one aspect of the team’s first-half success. Kuzminski said his team has shown a willingness to stick with the process and keep a level head even in challenging games. They’ve also exhibited a desire to get better each week, and that includes the holiday break from Pacific Western Athletic Association action. Some teams will take a break from basketball, said Kuzminski, but contenders won’t let up. The M’s are continuing to work on skill development, strength training and team dynamics.

“We definitely look at this period now where we don’t have games again until Jan. 3-4 as an opportunity to see if we can get better and that’s really what it has to be about,” he said.

The No. 1 ranking in the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association doesn’t mean all that much, the coach said, since there isn’t much interconference play.

“It’s about which team can keep getting better over the course of the season so that hopefully come late February and March, you’re playing your best basketball,” he said.

The Mariners will host a two-day camp Jan. 2-3 for boys in grades 8-12; for information, visit http://mariners.viu.ca.

“Those camps always provide an opportunity for us to engage in the community, but also for us as a program to get to see and spend some time with some of the players in high school that sometimes down the road, they end up playing for the Mariners,” Kuzminski said.

GAME ON … VIU’s men return to action Jan. 3-4 when they host exhibition games against the University of Northern B.C. Timberwolves of U Sports.



About the Author: Greg Sakaki

I have been in the community newspaper business for two decades, all of those years with Black Press Media.
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