Men's forward Adam Anhold posts up in a matchup versus the Langara Falcons. Both the men's and women's Mariners basketball teams are heading to provincials this weekend in Kelowna. (VIU Mariners)

By Nathan Maley

BASKETBALL PROVINCIALS

VIU Mariners basketball squads chasing gold at PACWEST Championships

Feb 29, 2024 | 4:41 PM

NANAIMO — Both VIU Mariners basketball teams head to provincials this weekend in Kelowna with lofty expectations.

Both teams finished 20-4 in their respective PACWEST season, good for first place in the conference and a bye to the semi-final round on Friday, March 1.

Despite some mid-season struggles in January, women’s team guard Chloe Scaber said they used the adversity to improve.

“Learning from our mistakes of that four-game losing streak that we had, it really taught us that we have to take it game-by-game,” Scaber told NanaimoNewsNOW.

The women will await the winner of Thursday’s matchup of Camosun versus Douglas.

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Winning their semi-final matchup not only sends the VIU women to the finals but would also book their ticket to the CCAA Basketball Championship at Lakeland College in Vermillion, Alberta, from March 13-16.

Scaber thinks clinching the first-round bye is a great opportunity for the team to be able to sniff out what other teams have planned.

“Any team could take a game at any point, and getting to see some of the trends and plans the other teams have put in place before we get out on the floor is gonna be a big help for us.”

Women’s team guard Chloe Scaber attacks the basket in a matchup against the Langara Falcons. (VIU Mariners)

The men’s team awaits the winner of Thursday’s matchup between Columbia Bible College (CBC) and Capilano.

Guard Ryan Bastion is hopeful to pick up on some of the communication used between those teams when watching them live in preparation for their game.

He believes sticking to the game plan they’ve had all year is the key to being successful.

“We’ve got a system that we’ve worked on since September when we started and we’ve got habits and we just got to stick them and nothing changes now.”

The men’s team had some early season exhibition game struggles before cruising through most of the regular season, but coming into the tournament having dropped three of their last four games.

Bastion says the team will be ready to play whoever comes out of the CBC/Capilano quarter-finals matchup.

While it may be easy to look ahead to a potential finals game and a CCAA Championships berth, Bastion praised his coaches for keeping the group locked in.

“The coaches have been putting importance on one game at a time, one practice at a time, and sticking to our system and our habits like we have and hopefully that will get it done.”

The men’s CCAA Championships will be held at Mount Allison University in New Brunswick March 13-16.

The women’s team will play Friday, March 1 with tip-off time scheduled for 5:30 p.m. with the men to follow at 8 p.m.

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