The Kwantlen Polytechnic University Eagles basketball teams travelled to North Vancouver and Squamish this past weekend to challenge the Capilano Blues and the Quest Kermodes. Despite playing some solid team basketball the women's results were unfavourable but the men managed a split of the weekend games with their first victory of the season against Quest.
Friday night's game provided an excellent test for the young Eagles women's team (1-3) as they stepped on the court to face the undefeated Capliano Blues (3-0). The Eagles came out with a solid game plan and a strong work ethic and managed to keep the Blues within striking distance. First-year guard Jessica Villadiego (Surrey) provided the Eagles with solid defensive play and a spark of energy off the bench and third year guard Erin Vekic (Port Coquitlam) led the Eagles in scoring with 13 points. Unfortunately the Eagles lost a tight 69-61 battle.
When the Eagles men's team took to the court on Friday night they knew that they would be in for a high scoring affair. Both the Blues (2-1) and the Eagles play a fast paced transition team style basketball game and Friday's game was evidence of that. The Eagles found themselves down 12 points heading into the fourth quarter when they managed to take control of the game. Unfortunately it was a little too late and the Eagles lost 89-84. Second year point guard AJ Adusei (Delta) led the team in scoring with 30 points, and first year forward Aaron Ram (Surrey) scored 22 in the loss.
The Eagles women travelled north on Saturday to play the Quest Kermodes (2-1). Third-year guard Anna Work (Everett, WA) scored 17 points and Jessica Villadiego (Surrey) chipped in a team high 6 assists, but it was not enough to overcome the strong Kermodes attack and the Eagles fell 80-61.
Despite the loss against Capilano on Friday, the Men's Eagles were a confident group heading into Squamish to play the Quest Kermodes (0-3). The Eagles believed that they had played well enough to win the night before and a similar effort on Saturday would likely result in a victory. The Eagles used some tenacious team defense and excellent free-throw shooting to take an early lead. Point guard AJ Adusei led the attack by dropping in 43 points, including sinking 17 of 20 shots from the free throw line. Second year guard Mark Mitchell (Toronto) played some outstanding perimeter defense throughout the game, and managed to sink a 3 point shot at the end of the game that was a dagger to the Kermodes chances of coming back. The Eagles picked up their first win of the regular season with a 93-79 victory.
The Eagles will next play a home and home series against their cross river rivals the Douglas College Royals on Friday November 25 at Kwantlen (Surrey Campus) and Saturday November 26 at Douglas College (New Westminster). The men take to the court at 8 PM. Students with a valid Kwantlen ID get free entry into Eagles home games.
Complete game results can be found at: www.kwantlen.ca/eagles
Kwantlen Polytechnic University has been serving the Metro Vancouver region for 30 years, and has opened doors to success for more than 250,000 people. Four campuses—Richmond, Surrey, Cloverdale and Langley—offer a comprehensive range of sought-after programs, including business, liberal arts and science, design, health, trades and technology, apprenticeships, horticulture, and academic and career advancement. Over 17,500 students annually have a choice from over 200 programs, including bachelor's degrees, associate degrees, diplomas, certificates and citations.
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