The VIU Mariners men's basketball team is ranked 1st in Canada at the Christmas break with a perfect 12-0 record. (Mary Kessenich/VIU Mariners)

By Alex Rawnsley

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VIU Mariners basketball squads among Canada’s best at mid-season break

Dec 8, 2024 | 5:50 AM

NANAIMO — A perfect start to the season for the VIU Mariners men’s basketball team as the group in some rare air.

The squad has been a perfect 12-0 through PACWEST play in the first half of the season, wrapping play with a 94-64 win over Langara College on Nov. 30, a result indicative of many dominant scorelines with VIU outscoring teams by a combined 270 points so far.

Results have steered VIU not only to the top of PACWEST, six points clear of second place, but also to being the top ranked team across Canada, according to the Canadian Collegaite Athletics Association.

“It’s a nice recognition of the work we’ve put in, what the group’s accomplished in the first semester,” head coach Matt Kuzminski said. “But at the end of the day there’s hardly any interconference play so we haven’t seen teams from Ontario, Quebec, Alberta…so there’s probably some guess work that goes into it with how teams actually stack up.”

A hot start to the season is a direct reflection of the work put in through the spring and summer months, according to Kuzminski.

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Gym sessions and individual practices before school commences allows the team to hit the ground running.

Kuzminski said the team this season is a little different from past years, with no clear-cut dominant scoring threats.

“Depth has been huge. We have some guys who are high scoring but it’s not like in previous years where it’s one or two dominant scorers. On any given night, we could have different guys stepping up getting points and that depth goes far into our bench.”

Kameron Bender leads the team in scoring with 209 points from 12 games.

Kaeleb Johnson has scored 188 points, primarily from the bench while Kai Leighton, Zekun Li and Ryan Bastian have all netted over 100 points.

Li’s 133 points have come in just 9 games.

Kuzminski said their playing style has seen a bit of a shift to how the Mariners operate, with more shots from beyond the three point arc.

Collegiate basketball has followed a trend in the NBA over recent years to see a high volume of shot attempts from three point territory.

“It’s something we want to do because we currently shoot it really well at about 40 percent, which is a really good three point percentage and there’s times on the floor where we’ll have five guys out there who shoot the three at a high level, close to 40 per cent.”

Games where VIU have won comfortably have often come with a high number of shot attempts from beyond the three point line, whereas closer results have seen the Mariners unable to generate those chances.

Players will get a break between Dec. 14 and 28 to return home with their families, with regular practice sessions continuing either side of the break.

VIU will host UNBC in exhibition play on Jan. 3 and 4, before resuming PACWEST play on the road against Columbia Bible College the following weekend.

Just after the new year, on Jan. 2 and 3, the Mariners will host a high school-aged basketball camp for local players.

Kuzminski said it’s an opportunity to get a good look at the local talent.

‘We have these camps in the summer and at Christmas, as well as just getting out to see local teams play it gives me a pretty pulse on the guys we have in the city and in our communities.”

Registration information is available through the VIU Mariners website.

The women’s team is ranked fifth nationally after an 11-1 start to the season, with the only blemish coming in early November against Douglas College.

NanaimoNewsNOW attempted to connect with women’s coach Tony Bryce but were unsuccessful prior to publishing deadline.

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