Vancouver Island University’s basketball teams hopped to it to start the new year, winning all four games they played.
The VIU Mariners men’s and women’s teams counted wins over the Quest Kermodes on Friday night at the VIU gym, then swept the Capilano Blues there the following afternoon.
The Mariners men defeated the Kermodes 112-72 on Friday, then got past the Blues 92-85. VIU’s women were 75-62 winners against Quest, then beat Cap 75-54.
M’s men’s coach Tony Bryce said it was something of an inconsistent weekend for his charges.
“Two wins, and we’ll take them, for sure, to start the second half but I think there’s definitely a lot of room for improvement on the defensive end, especially,” Bryce said.
He was mostly satisfied with his team’s play in the blowout win over Quest, but didn’t see 100 per cent “buy in” from his guys the next day.
“Cap played quite well but I thought we did a very poor job of sticking to the game plan and the scouting report and in a lot of ways it probably made the game a little closer than it should have been,” Bryce said.
He was quick to single out two players for praise, saying Trevor Davidson and Tyler Olsen were both impressive coming off the bench.
Richard Townsend Gant led VIU on Friday with 23 points and nine rebounds and Brandon Jones scored 16 points. On Saturday Jacob Thom had 22 points and eight boards, Townsend Gant scored 17 points and Olsen added 16.
The women’s M’s did well to post back-to-back wins against the Kermodes and Blues, said coach Bill McWhinnie in a press release.
“It was a good weekend for us, we were able to shake the rust off from not having a meaningful game since Dec. 2 and defeat two very good teams,” he said. “In particular, I thought we played very well in the second half against Capilano.”
Richelle Rafnkjelson provided VIU with a spark with defensive play and rebounding, said the coach.
On Friday Shayna Worthington led the Mariners with 17 points and 11 rebounds and Brittany Knievel had 16 points to go with 11 rebounds. Kayla Gromme contributed 16 points and six assists. The next day Jocelyn Jones scored 21 to lead the M’s, with Knievel adding 16 points.
GAME ON … VIU’s basketball teams head to Metro Vancouver Friday (Jan. 20) and Saturday to face Kwantlen and Langara.
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