Metro Vancouver…..The KPU Eagles brought the home crowd a fast-paced and dynamic pair of games this past weekend against the Camosun College Chargers and the Vancouver Island (VIU) Mariners which demonstrated the depth of improvement in the squad since their last home game; the November 8th 76-45 loss to the Quest University Canada Kermodes. The Eagles are now 1-6 and in seventh place in the PACWEST going into the holiday break. While both games ended in losses, 80-77 on Friday in favor of the Chargers and 87-69 on Saturday to the Mariners, head coach Vladimir Nikić continues to march his squad forward.
“I think we are one of the most dangerous teams in PACWEST because I think people don’t understand how good we are,” he commented, “We played amazing both games. With a little more mental toughness and a little more experience, we will be right in there.”
L to R: Eagles Bradshaw, Cooley, Haynes, & Udevi tip off against VIU
Game recap versus the Camosun College Chargers on Friday, November 21st:
A slow offensive start for the Eagles led to a nine-point gap during the first 10 minutes, but the Eagles came flying back to come within two points of the Chargers at halftime, 40-38.
The first half saw firepower from the first-year players and included power forward Nick (Nicholas) Smith, Surrey, BC (nine points, one assist, one rebound), guard Brendan Bailey, Coquitlam, BC (eight points, one assist, one rebound) and power forward Matt (Madison) Cooley, Delta, BC (seven points, one assist, five rebounds). Eagles fifth-year centre Devan Haynes, Sechelt, BC returned to the lineup for the first time in the regular season and quickly established a strong defensive presence (eight rebounds). The Eagles shot 52% from the line.
Leaders for the Chargers leaders at the half included third-year guard Evan Woodson, Victoria, BC (11 points, two assists, four rebounds, one steal), third-year forward Lachlan Ross, Canberra, Australia (11 points, one assist, one rebound, one steal), and third-year forward James Giuffre, Victoria, BC (11 points, three rebounds). The Mariners shot 44% from the line.
The lead changed hands four times over the course of the second half, which included a nail-biter final minute in which the game could have gone either way. The packed crowd in the Eagles Nest were on the edge of their seats as KPU tried to hold onto the lead. In the end, foul trouble would hinder the Eagles final efforts and the final score was 80-77 in favor of the Chargers.
Bailey (20 points, two assists, one rebound, one steal), second-year shooting guard Obi Udevi, Surrey, BC (15 points, two assists, three rebounds, one steal), Cooley (11 points, one assist, eight rebounds), Smith (11 points, three rebounds, one blocked shot), and Haynes (two points, one assist, 12 rebounds) led the game for the Eagles. The Eagles improved at the line to 78% in the second half to average 64% for the game.
Woodson (31 points, three assists, five rebounds, three steals) and Giuffre (16 points, six rebounds) remained as leaders for the Mariners. VIU shot 55% from the line in the second half, which averaged to 52% for the game.
“We had 12 bad turnovers and we missed 15 free throws. Camosun scored 24 fast-break points off of our turnovers. Other than that, I thought we played great. I think we out-played them but unfortunately, 12 turnovers were bad turnovers,” stated Coach Nikić, “I thought Camosun was a more physical team and crashed the boards very well. But we managed to keep them off the boards and we managed to run with them.”
Scoring:
KPU 14+24+21+18 = 77
CAM 23+17+25+15 = 80
Total Rebounds:
KPU 22+27=49/CAM 27+21=48
Game recap versus the VIU Mariners on Saturday, November 22nd:
While the number one PACWEST-ranked Mariners knocked off the number five CBC Bearcats 117-61 the night before, the Eagles showed they were up for a fight by trading leads eight times over the course of the game with the full force of their entire bench.
The Eagles were in control the first half as they outscored the Mariners and ended the first 20 minutes with a five-point lead. KPU’s leaders were Bailey (12 points, two assists, two rebounds, three steals), first-year shooting guard Jaiten Rana, Delta, BC (11 points, one assist, one rebound), first-year forward Trevor Schulz, Richmond, BC (six points, two rebounds, one steal), and fifth-year point guard James Bradshaw, Delta, BC (two assists, four rebounds). The Eagles improved at the line as they shot 83%.
Leaders for the Mariners were third-year guard Chris Parker, Eagle River, BC (nine points, two assists, five rebounds, one steal) and third-year guard Kadeem Stewart, Seattle, WA, USA (six points, three assists, five rebounds, one steal). The Mariners shot 36% from the line in the first half.
The second half proved to be more of a challenge for the young KPU team. The Mariners outscored the Eagles in the third quarter by 17 points, which KPU continued to whittle down to maintain a gap of 10 or less points as the game wore on. The Eagles ran into foul trouble early in the fourth quarter, which was enough to seal their fate as the team struggled to maintain both offensive and defensive momentum. The Eagles fell 87-69 to the Mariners in the first of three meetings the teams will have this season.
End of game statistics for KPU saw Bailey (21 points, five assists, four rebounds, three steals), Rana (17 points, two assists, one rebound, two steals), and Haynes (nine points, six rebounds) lead the Eagles. Cooley (eight points, one assist, five rebounds, two blocked shots, one steal) and Udevi (five points, one assist, seven rebounds, one blocked shot, one steal) also contributed at both ends of the court. The Eagles shot 64% in the second half and averaged 74% for the game.
Stewart (20 points, seven assists, seven rebounds, five steals) and Parker (17 points, 3 assists, 6 rebounds, four steals) remained as leaders for VIU after 40 minutes. The Mariners shot 50% from the line in the second half to average 46% for the game.
“I thought the game was out of reach when two key players were fouled out at the beginning of the fourth quarter. Once we lost Matt and Nick, we lost our rebounders and stability in the middle,” said Coach Nikić, “But there were a lot of positives today. We showed that we are shoulder-to-shoulder with one of the top teams in the country and that we can challenge even the most experience teams and could beat them on any given night.”
Scoring:
KPU 15+17+32+23 = 87
VIU 17+20+15+17 = 69
KPU 23+22=45/VIU 30+29=59
The 2014/15 PACWEST season resumes on Friday, January 9th versus the CBC Bearcats; the women tip off at 6:00pm and the men at 8:00pm. The Eagles will have a seven game home-stand to round out the second third of the regular season.
The KPU Eagles women & men's basketball teams would like to thank the KPU Bookstore for their pop-up shop during Friday and Saturday's games.
For more information on the KPU Bookstore, please visit http://www.kpu.ca/bookstore.
Kwinten shows off his 'Mini-Me's available at the KPU Bookstores
The Eagles would also like to thank their sponsor Earls Restaurant (Strawberry Hill) for providing tasty treats and gift certificates for fans, as well as supplying our halftime shoot-out contest winners with $50.00 gift certificates.
For more information on Earls Restaurant, Strawberry Hill please visit https://earls.ca/locations/strawberry-hill.
Earls Restaurant Strawberry Hill provided fans with gift certificates and samples of their famous 'Chocolate Sticky Pudding Cakes'
(Photo Credit: KPU Sports Information)
For more information on the Department of Athletics & Recreation, please contact Junelle Mah, sports information and marketing, at 604-786-0804 or at junelle.mah@kpu.ca.
The KPU Eagles Department of Athletics & Recreation enters its 14th season of interuniversity competition. The Eagles are members of the PACWEST conference and play in the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) with 100 student-athletes participating on eight varsity teams in men’s and women’s basketball, soccer, badminton and golf. KPU athletics plays its home games at the Eagles’ Nest (Surrey Campus), Northview Golf & Country Club, Newton Athletic Park, all located in Surrey, BC and the Ace Badminton Centre in Richmond, BC. The Eagles are active in the conference with staff members on various advisory committees and competing to host both provincial and national championships. The student-athletes are mainly from the lower mainland but KPU’s rosters have included student-athletes from North America, South America, Asia and Europe.
Follow the Eagles on Twitter @KPU Eagles, on Facebook www.facebook.com/KPUEagles, or on our website www.kpu.ca/eagles.