An upset over a top-ranked team on home court has earned the Capilano Blues men’s basketball team a Pacwest title and a trip to the CCAA national championships.
The third-ranked Blues claimed the provincial banner with a 75-70 win over the top-seeded Vancouver Island University Mariners Saturday at Capilano’s Centre for Sport and Wellness.
The Blues and Mariners were tied 55-55 heading into the fourth quarter, setting the stage for a shootout finish. With the title on the line, the Blues came through, taking the lead two minutes into the quarter on a big run that included a three from Kash Lang, a jumper from Ahmad Athman and another three from Ashya Ghasemi. VIU fought back, but the Blues kept the lead the rest of the way, with David Featherston Jr. supplying the exclamation point with a two-handed dunk with 19 seconds left in the game.
The home crowd swarmed the court as a final heave from VIU clanked out and the final buzzer sounded.
“The growth and dedication to hard work that these guys have put into the season is amazing,” said Blues head coach Jason Price, adding that the team pulled off the upset by pushing VIU out of their comfort zone. “We know that they love to shoot the three, so we emphasized no easy threes. We wanted to force them into pressure threes or force them to drive to the rim and make contested layups. If we could do this, we would have a chance.”
Athman, a fourth-year point guard from Oshawa, Ont., was named player of the game and tournament MVP after recording 21 points, seven assists, five rebounds and three steals in the final.
Capilano earned a berth in the championship game with a 89-63 win over sixth-seeded Douglas College 89-63 in a quarterfinal on Thursday followed by a thrilling double-overtime win over second-ranked Camosun College in a semifinal on Friday. Damein Coleman led the way in the semifinal win with 14 points and 22 rebounds.
Coleman and Featherston Jr. were both named tournament all-stars.
The Blues men have now medaled in four consecutive Pacwest tournaments, winning silver in 2022, gold in 2023 and bronze last year. Capilano will play in the CCAA national championship tournament March 11-15 at Vanier College in Montreal.
“We have one more goal to accomplish this season and that’s to win a national championship,” said Price. “I think we are peaking at the right time. We have an older team and a lot of these guys played keys rolls for us a couple of years ago at nationals. The guys know we have to stay focused this week with our preparation. The coaches are ready for the task ahead and will have the guys ready to compete at nationals."
The fourth-ranked Blues women finished third at the Pacwest championships, bouncing back from a 67-53 semifinal loss to top-ranked VIU to defeat third-seeded Douglas 61-45 in the bronze medal game. North Vancouver’s Maddy Coffin, a fourth-year forward from Seycove Secondary, was named a tournament all-star.
