The VIU Mariners can take the court confidently this week.
Vancouver Island University’s men’s basketball team is preparing to play its second pre-season game on Wednesday (Aug. 22) when it hosts the California State Northridge Matadors.
The exhibition game will be the second in eight days against an NCAA Div. 1 opponent. The M’s played competitively in last week’s test, an 89-71 loss to Louisiana’s Northwestern State University Demons.
Matt Kuzminski, VIU coach, said his team “stepped up to the challenge” in that game, and showed him some things that he was glad to see.
“It solidified what I thought we would be good at,” Kuzminski said. “I think we’ll be a good team at sharing the ball, getting everybody involved.”
Greg Gillies, VIU’s top scorer in that game, said the result was a confidence builder. The Mariners hadn’t had any full team practices prior to last week’s exhibition game, and were missing a couple of bodies, too. They recognize that at this stage of the pre-season, there is plenty of room to grow.
“We’re not the tallest team, we’re probably not the strongest team but we’re going to work and we’re going to see where it takes us,” Gillies said.
GAME ON … The M’s and Matadors tip off Wednesday at 6 p.m. at the VIU gym. Admission is $5 for adults and $2 for students.
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