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The 2010-11 CIS Men’s Basketball national finalist Trinity Western Spartans were in mid-season form on their way to an impressive 108-100 overtime victory over visiting NCAA D1 Santa Clara Broncos (West Coast Conference).

Silky smooth Junior Guard Kevin Foster (6-2, 220 lbs, Katy, TX) knocked down two clutch three-pointers in the last four seconds including an incredible 30–footer buzzer beating shot to send the game into overtime.

Santa Clara Broncos standout guard Kevin Foster drives past TWU's Eli Mara

The victory marks the first time Trinity Western has defeated a NCAA D1 school and improves the Spartans preseason record to 1-1 after falling 114-71 to Ball State Cardinals.

Calvin Westbrook was the top scorer for the Spartans with 32 points on 12-of-23 shooting and a hot 4-of-6 from the three-point line.

Kyle Coston was outstanding all-night and racked up a major double-double with 29 points and fourteen rebounds. The senior forward and former Portland State Pilots shot 7-of-16 from the floor including 5-of-12 from beyond the arc.

Coston scored 11 straight points in a key stretch in the fourth quarter as the Broncos pushed to take the lead.

Ottawa Gee-Gees transfer Sean Peter scored 15 of his 17 points in the first-half before fouling out. Point guard Tristan Smith also reached double figures with 10 points and eight assists.

Kevin Foster the 2010 NCAA Division I leader in three-points made with 140 (9th in NCAA history) erupted in the second-half and finished with a team-high 23 points on five deep balls, he also added eleven rebounds.

The battle underneath the glass went the Broncos (59-49) with three players reaching double-figures. John McArthur yanked down 14 rebounds to along with his twelve-points. Niyi Harrison also added 11 rebounds and 17 points.

Trinity Western shot 34/80 (42.5%) including 11/29 (37.9%) from downtown. Santa Clara connected on 37/92 (40.2%) from the floor but only 28.6% of their three-point attempts finishing 12/42. The Spartans defence also forced 27 Broncos turnovers despite giving it up ball 21 times.

The victory marks the first time Trinity Western has defeated a NCAA D1 school and improves the Spartans preseason record to 1-1 after falling 114-71 to Ball State Cardinals.

Canadian Julian Clarke only saw 14 minutes of floor time and finished with 4 points on 1/4 shooting.

Game Notes
Broncos starting Senior forward and Vancouver native Marc Trasolini picked an injury early in the first-quarter and didn’t return.

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VANCOUVER -- The University of Texas-Arlington Mavericks picked up a 108-60 victory over a short-handed UBC Thunderbirds in early pre-season action, Friday night at War Memorial Gym.

UTA improved to 3-0 on their tour of B.C., having previously registered victories over Trinity Western on Wednesday and Quest University on Thursday. They round out their Canadian trip with games against Douglas College and Fraser Valley University.

UBC freshman Mike Lewandowski hits the floor to save a ball that Jermaine Cherry converts in the T’Birds 108-60 loss to the University of Texas -- Arlington

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cro8B27xeEA

On Friday, the Mavericks used their athleticism and size to shut down UBC who shot just 19-of-64 (29.7%) from the floor while committing 20 turnovers. UTA was an impressive 37-of-64 (57.8%) from the floor, including a sparkling 12-of-20 (60.0%) from downtown.

The Mavs had five players reach double figures, led by starters Kevin Butler and LaMarcus Reed III who had 17 and 14 points respectively. UTA’s depth was on display as well, as their bench outscored UBC’s 60-26 with a game-high 19 points from Bradley Gay.

Second-year Tommy Nixon led UBC with 12 points while Doug Plumb had 10 in the losing cause. Freshmen Nakai Luyken and Malcolm Williams impressed in their UBC debuts, finishing with eight and seven points respectively.

Nixon and Plumb were just two of four T-Bird holdovers from the 2010-11 season that dressed in the game. Standout fifth-years Nathan Yu and Kamar Burke did not participate in the contest for UBC. Head coach Kevin Hanson was also not on the bench for the ‘Birds, as he and Yu are members of Team Canada currently competing at the Summer Universiade in China. UBC was led by first-year assistant coach Casey Archibald.

The first half was a story of turnovers for the T-Birds who committed 14 while only forcing four from their NCAA counterparts. UTA took advantage with 22 points off turnovers in the opening two quarters.

Plumb scored the first basket of the game before the Mavs raced out to a 9-2 lead. The T-Birds responded with a 6-3 run but UTA’s consistent defensive pressure led to a spat of UBC turnovers and the Mavs led 32-17 after the the first quarter.

UTA maintained their advantage with another stout defensive effort in the second frame. UBC tallied just 14 points in the quarter and saw the visitors lead 55-31 at the break.

It was more of the same from the high-flying Mavericks in the third and fourth quarters, as they steadily pulled away from the T-Birds over the final 20 minutes.

Game Wrap by UBC Athletics.

No pictures tonight, just the little video shot on my iphone.

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I spent most my day hanging around the courts but did venture out to the Corona beer garden (known as Coronaville), located right beside the feature beach volleyball court once or twice to check out volley ballers. I also had a chance to watch ice hockey without ice, as the Molson rink was set up appropriately enough, right beside the Molson beer garden. I think the rink was a little scaled down for the event, but there is plenty of promise for the product as Canadians do love their hockey.

The fastest sport this weekend at Kits Beach has to be Beach tennis. The game is played as doubles on a court the about same size as used in beach volleyball. The rackets are similar to the ones used in racquetball, and it appears a modified tennis ball is used, perhaps with a bit less air. Though the speed these guys hit the ball is insane the small court and two bodies makes for fast and furious rally’s and as everything is a volley, the reactions of the players have to be razor sharp. I hope this sport catches on as it is definitely a crowd pleaser.

As the ref looks on, St. Mary's product, Demitri Harris throws down a huge reverse dunk at Kitsfest 2011

One of the best improvements to the Kits Beach Basketball tourney has been the realignment of the court and in particular, the extra seating capacity with new bleachers and the beer garden adjacent to the main court. It makes for an intimate atmosphere and all fans become engaged in the games.

Prior to the start of afternoon play, a guest appearance by former Vancouver Canuck BJ McDonald was acknowledged enthusiastically by the fans as he joined Kitsfest chairman, Howard Kelsey’s father in a ceremonial tip ball. The round robin games of pool play wrapped up and the men’s teams headed into semi-final play for the final two games of the night.

I do not have scores for today but the Molson team defeated the Kits Beach Alumni by a couple and the Champs took care of UBC and will be playing in the final tomorrow.

I won’t be onsite tomorrow but hope all goes well (damn weatherman) and the event finishes as it begun, in the sun with people having fun. More information on all events and the festivals great sponsors can be found at the Kitfest website. My pictures are in my Kitsfest 2011 gallery.

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Also running all weekend is a massive Beach volleyball tourney, sponsored by Urban Rec, with over 250 participants and for the first time ever at Kits Beach, Molson Coors  “Beach hockey” will make its debut featuring 12 teams playing 3 on 3 on a rink that uses artificial “ice”. Very cool.

Kitsilano alum and now UBC forward, Tommy Nixon, drives the lane against a Kits High Alumni defender

A trio of DJ’s had the music bumping through an awesome sound system that surrounded both courts. Topping the whole day off were the many beautiful ladies that would take a break from their tanning on Kits Beach to come over and listen to the music while checking out the ballers.

The three day festival opened with all basketball teams hitting the court today for the beginning of pool play while the other sports will get underway Saturday. On the courts this afternoon, after the boys and girls games wrapped up, a lot of the familiar faces hit the courts as the usual suspects were in the house to show off their skills.

Names including Casey Archibald, Randy Knorr, Clay Crellin, Swaroop Clair, Ricardo Hernadez and Joey Haywood helped the “older” teams such as The Kits Beach Alumni team, Top Gun, the BC Ballers, Molson Coors and SWAT against younger teams, UBC and TRU who were getting their new recruits some time on the court.

Some of the scores from today.

Kits High Alumni 59 PITA 41

Reign Men 74 Sputnik 55

TRU 61 AWAT 48

BC Ballers Top Gun

UBC 56  Kits High Alumni 42

The Champs 68 Sputnik 39

Molson Coors 69 TRU 44

Kits Beach Alumni 56 Top Gun 37

The event runs through Sunday so there is lots of time to make your way down and enjoy the best of West Coast living. Information on all the events, parking and other logistics can be found on the Kitfest Website. I will be posting pictures and maybe even a video as time permits. Look for updates in my Galleries.

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UBC's Doug Plumb drives against a SWAT defender in a morning game at the 2011 Dolphin Basketball Tournament

The tourney is generally played on outdoor courts but the wet weather today moved the play inside the community centre where a large crowd gathered to watch the teams play on side by side courts. With the games playing on 20 minute running time halfs, the action is fast and furious. The smaller courts also led to some very physical play and there was more than one ejection as the refs fought to control games. For the fans it meant action from buzzer to buzzer as teams fought to make it out of pool play today and into the playoff round that begins at 1:00 tomorrow.

A break in the weather just prior to the last set of games prompted the organizers to try and finish Saturday’s pool play outside but a thunderstorm rolled through early in the first half forcing everyone to run for cover in either the beer garden or the community center where the games were completed.

I don’t have a write up for the games, just pictures, (and lots of them) that I will be both posting in my galleries here as well as supplying to the organizers of the tournament. Scores and information can be found on the Dolphin webpage.

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SFU Clan Track: SFU claims 2011 Achilles Cup

April 29, 2011

Burnaby, B.C. – For the second straight year, the Simon Fraser University Clan track and field team captured the Achilles Cup in their annual dual meet with the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds by a score of 122-100 on Wednesday afternoon. The Clan improve to 5-3-1 all-time against the Thunderbirds in the meet.

SFU senior Andrew Boss takes the win in the mens's 200m

Junior Helen Crofts won both the 400m and 1500m with times of 56.81 and 4:45.91, respectively while senior Brianna Kane won the 800m, posting a time of 2:15.80. Lindsey Butterworth finished right behind Crofts in the 1500m, capturing second place with a time of 4:46.52. Senior Breanne Carter won the 200m in a time of 25.83. UBC won the 4x100m relay while SFU’s 4x400m team of Emma Vogt, Kane, Olivia Brennan, and Crofts took first place. In the shot put, Jade Richardson won with a distance of 10.61m.

On the men’s side, Andrew Boss won the 200m with a time of 21.77m while finishing second to teammate Brett Montrose in the 400m by just 0.03 seconds. Senior Ryan Brockerville beat out UBC’s Jordan Smith in the 1500m by nearly three seconds, winning with a time of 3:55.64. SFU also won the 4×100 relay as the team of Boss, Montrose, Dennis Nicolas and Zach Conard beat their cross-town rivals with a time of 43.47. The Clan also captured the 4x400m relay as Boss and Montrose teamed up with Travis Vugteveen and Yubai Liu to finish in 3:23.04.

The Clan travel to California to compete in the Payton Jordon Invite on April 30 in preparation for the NAIA National Championships in Marion, Indiana from May 26-28.

Game wrap by SFU Athletics.

Pictures are in my University Pictures Gallery.

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April 3, 2011

Abbotsford, B.C. – The move of the 2011 Emilie Mondor Invitational to Abbotsford’s Rotary Stadium did not hold back the Simon Fraser University Clan track and field team on Saturday as they posted top times once again.

Simon Fraser track standout Helen Crofts runs the anchor leg in the women's 4x800 at the Emilie Mondor Invitational meet in Abbotsford

On the men’s side, senior Andrew Boss won the 400m with a time of 48.81 while teammate Brett Montrose posted a time of 50.15 earning fourth place. Clan senior Ryan Brockerville won the 1500m convincingly as he beat out second place by nearly three minutes with teammate Adam Reid finishing second with a time of 3:59.31.

The Clan are back in action this Friday when they compete at the Ralph Vernacchia Invitational, hosted by Western Washington University in Bellingham, Washington.

Game wrap by SFU Athletics.

Pictures are in my University Pictures Gallery.

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SFU Clan Softball: SFU trades wins with NNU in doubleheader

March 26, 2011

Burnaby, BC – The Simon Fraser University Clan softball team picked up a big 7-3 win in the first game of their doubleheader with NNU but failed to build on their momentum, dropping the final contest to the Crusaders by a 5-2 score.

“This is the kind of game we’ve been stung with a few times. We kept Northwest Nazarene in the game for too long and then came to life,” said head coach Mike Renney following the opening contest. “They were only up by one but they were running the play for most of the game.”

In the first game, NNU got off to an early start as Chelsea Allsbrook singled to centre field, bringing in Arielle Chao to open the scoring in the top of the first inning.

The score would remain the same for the next four innings and SFU wouldn’t get on the board until the bottom of the fourth when a Kelsey Haberl (Burnaby, B.C.) single up the middle set the stage for senior outfielder Brittany Mayers (Burnaby, B.C.) to belt an RBI triple up centre field and bring home Haberl.

SFU's Cortney McCallum nails a pitch for a grand slam in the 1st half of the Clan's double header with NNU

Cara Lukawesky (Coquitlam, B.C.) earned the win for SFU, allowing three runs on six hits and moving her record to 5-3 on the year.

Nicole Grummons was dealt the loss for NNU, giving up seven runs on four hits, dropping her record to 4-9.

In the second game, the Crusaders were determined to bounce back from the loss earlier and came out swinging to start, as a Haley Hevern ground –rule double scored both Elizabeth Beaty and Arielle Chao to give NNU a quick 2-0 lead.

The visitors would pad their lead in the third and fourth innings when a Beaty solo homerun and an Emily Renfrow sacrifice fly scored Sarah Varady to make it a 4-0 ball game. Hevern also managed to score on an unearned run in the top of the sixth inning and extend the NNU lead to 5-0.

SFU later got on the board in the sixth inning when pinch runner Jane Channell was able to scamper home from first base after a couple errors, cutting the deficit to 5-1. The Clan were able to load the bases with two outs, but Megan Durrant’s fly out ended the SFU threat. SFU tacked on another run in the bottom of the seventh when Trisha Bouchard (Montreal, QC) was able to score off a Brittany Mayers single, but that’s as close as the Clan would come.

McCallum was dealt the loss for SFU and was replaced in the top of the fifth inning by sophomore hurler Shea O’Neil (Delta, B.C.). Chelsey Anderson picked up her second win against the Clan, allowing two runs and six hits.

SFU now has a few days to rest before they travel to San Diego to take on CSU San Marcos in non-conference action on April 2.

Game wrap by SFU Athletics.

Pictures are in my University Pictures Gallery.

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Anyways, enjoy the pictures, support the event photographer and see some of you next year.

The pictures are uploaded in these Photo Galleries.

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 The final day of the 2011 tournament began with the Tamanawis Wildcats and the Oak Bay Bays  playing for a spot into the top 10 finishers at this year’s tourney. Tamanawis had a tough game yesterday as they were blown out by Sir Charles Tupper, while Oak Bay had perhaps an even tougher loss, being beat in overtime by Walnut Grove.

The Bays would receive another great performance from their shooting guard Drake Downer as he would put up 27 including 5-16 from three but it was not enought to stop Tamanawis as behind Satvir and Gagan Sahota’s 25 and 22 points respectively the Wildcats would win 89-77.

Big Cameron Smythe lays one up and in over a Gator defender

Though Charles Tupper trailed Walnut Grove in shooting percentage in the first quarter they were able to lead on the scoreboard as the first closed 19-14 in favor of the Tigers. The Gators, cheered on once again by their small but very loud and enthusiastic student body, were able to D up and out score the Tigers 12-9 in the second as the half ended 28-26 for Tupper.

The Gators were able to tie the score at 33 midway through the third and a few lead changes later the quarter would end with Tupper leading by four, 48-44 as the Tigers once again outshot the Gators 54% to 33%.

In the fourth quarter the Gators could not get the game closer than four points and Tupper would take this one away at the free throw line late as the Tigers would take 6th place in the provincials while Walnut Grove would place 8th.

Cameron Smythe would score 13 points and grab 14 boards  to earn player of the game.

The Pitt Meadows Marauders and the Burnaby South Rebels played in the 5^th – 7^th place game after their wins over Heritage Woods and Kelowna respectively.

I have to mention at this point my respect for the courage and heart of Pitt Meadows’ point guard Mistu Iwai. Iwai has been an exchange student for the past few years at Pitt Meadows and come to the school from his home in Ichikawa-Shi, Chiba Japan where his family remains.

His family in Ichikawa survived the recent major earthquake without tragedy however the devastation and ongoing

Pitt Meadows' point guard Mitsu Iwai takes the ball to the net against burnaby's big men in Pitt Meadows 70-66 win

Burnaby and Pitt came out firing in the first half of this game as the teams would both hit over 40% for the half with Pitt hit 49%, thier highest total in a half  at the provincials. Pitt would lead by as many as 9 in the first quarter as Burnaby South got some of thier bench players into action early before settling for a 22-19 lead when the buzzer sounded.

Pitt put their one active juinor player on the roster Jordan Rich,into the game for 8:00 of the second quarter and Rich responded by going 2-3 shooting, draining two treys from the top of the arc. Rich also had a nice block on Burnaby big man, Nick Irvine.  Burnaby stuck with mixing up the starter with the bench as did Pitt to end the half with Pitt, behind Malcoom Williams 19 1st half points, out to a big lead at 44-30.

Burnaby would shoot at 50% compared to Pitts 40% but it was Pitt that extended the lead to 17 points. before ending the third up by 14, 63-49.  Anyone following Pitt Meadows this year know that a 14 point lead in the fourth was not a safe lead for the Marauders and sure enough, this game would be the same. 

Pitt led by 12 points at 67-55 with 7:06 to go and would not score another basket until Burnaby, trailing by a single point with 8.9 seconds left would hit two free throws to go up 69-66.  On the ensuing possesion Burnaby’s Ater Degal would shoot a three to tie the game that would bounce off the rim twice before falling to the floor with the buzzer ringing.

Malcolm Williams would lead all scorers with 27 while Ater Degal would hit for 16. Matthew Blackaby with 16 points and four rebounds was named player of the game.

The 3^rd-4^th place game, played before a large and loud crowd at the Langley Events  Centre featured the two losing teams from last night’s semi-final matchups and again, as they did in the Fraser Valley Championship, the WJ Moaut Hawks and the Terry Fox Ravens took to the court. Moaut lost in the semi- finals to a fast paced sharp shooting Vancouver College team in the semis while Fox was out gunned from the arc in their loss to RC Palmer.  

Terry Fox guard Scott Hind drives the net against the WJ Mouat Hawks

Fox would lead by as many as nine in the second half largely behind the shooting of Bret mcDonald and Scott Hind. There did not seem to be a defense that could contain the duo as between the two of them they would hit 11 threes.

When the third ended the game was a three point game in favor of Fox. By the time Hind was done in the last quarter Fox, behind Hinds 8 three pointers and 31 points had stretched the lead to as many as 11 points and this game would end 75-65 Terry Fox.

Mouat actually outshot fox for the game as they hit for 47% compared to Fox’s 43 but the damage was the three ball that Fox sank at a 45% rate going 15-33 while Mouat settled for 5-15 shooting from behind the arc. The battle on the boards was about even with the Hawks nabbing two more than the Ravens.

The high scorer was  Hind with 31 while McDonald pitched in 21. Gurminder Kang led Moaut with 21. Kang grabbed a double double as he added 10 boards. Hind was named player of the game.

Finally, before a packed house at the Langley Events Centre, the main event took place. A great matchup between teams with similar styles as the Vancouver College Fighting Irish took on the RC Palmer Griffins. Vancouver College in a testament to their program returns to the AAA finals for its 2^nd  appearence in three years after finishing third last year.RC Palmer, who competed in AA ball last year is also returning to a final. Both teams were unsuccessful in their title games last year.

In what has to be one of the more wild halfs of basketball played this year, the huge crowd gathered at the Langley Events Centre was treated to some outstanding basketball. The Irish, behind the strong pplay of seniors Adam Konar and Vincent Tolentino  started extremely strong, opening on a 12-0 run and then takaing the score up to 19-2  at the 1:47 mark of the first quarter. The Griffins, two timeouts later finally remembered they were the number one ranked team in BC and behind Jamie Madewans three point shooting closed on an 11-1 run to end the quarter down by seven at 20-13.

Madewan, who would end the half with four treys kept it going in the second quarter and with Vijay Dhillon now joinng in the scoring the

RC Palmer's Ranjodh Hare puts up a shot against Vancouver College

Just a great 2nd half of basketball. Palmer would takes its first lead of the game 20 seconds into the third and though there would be a couple of lead swaps throughout the the quarter the writing was on the wall for this championship as the momentum was clearly in the Griffins favor.

The Griffins would lead by five points midway through the third and all Vancouver College could do to answer for the rest of the quarter was a single field goal and a free throw as they trailed by 10 53-43 after three.

In the fourth the Griffins would extend the lead to as many as 13 points before the Irish would make a final push in the final few minutes to close to within five at 2:00 but that would be as close as this one would get as Vijay Dhillon and Ranjodh Hare would close this game out for Palmer and the Griffins would win the championship 71-63.

The player of the game Ranjodh Hare with 13 points and 17 rebounds. VJ Dhillon led all scorers with 26 points  while Vincent Tolentino had 20 for Vancouver College. The Irish would finish the game at 50% shooting on 20 – 40 but only 3-23 from downtown. The Griffins shot only 40% on 16-40 but were able to hit 32% from three on 7-22.

There was a fair bit of controversy when it was announced that the tourney would be moving from its 30 year home at the PNE’s Agridome but I think the week has shown that the move was a good one. The Langley Events Centre does not have the old school charm the Agridome had for sure but that is about the only “fault” that can be found with the new venue. With eight teams from the Fraser Valley being represented at the tournament, the Langley location was a welcome relief for many parents and fans and upon arrival, not being hit with a daily $9.00 parking fee was yet another bonus.

The comfort of the new facility is second to none and the sight lines for the fans are fantastic as they sit right on top of the action. There were plenty of concession stands serving everything from hamburgers to chicken strips at prices that were on par with any fast food joint and of course there was also Dole Whip.

 The huge scoreboard and TV screen that hangs over centre court is clear and viewable from any spot in the arena. The video was first class with multiple camera angles and instant replays shown as well as great promos between games of earlier action. The sound system was again first class and the production crew and Basketball BC is to be commended for the top flight presentation they put on the past five days.

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