There was no denying the
Brandon University Bobcats from victory Friday night as they cruised to
a 93 -79 victory over the visiting University of Victoria Vikes earning
their spot in the Canada West Final and a trip to nationals in Halifax.
Leading by 24 at the half, the Cats held off a late U of Vic attack to
win their 16th straight game in front of a packed crowd at the BU
gymnasium.
"It was phenomenal to get up that much on a team as strong as U of
Vic," said second-year Head Coach Barnaby Craddock. "They've had a
great season and I think we had to really bring a solid game to do
that. You have to credit them, they've had a good year and we're lucky
to get this game in our home gym in front of our fans. We just knew we
had to come out and play well in order to beat a quality team like U of
Vic and I think we?ve done that."
Dany Charlery did it all for
the Bobcats, 27 points (18 of which in the first half), 9 rebounds, 7
steals and 3 assists. His efforts didn't go unnoticed, as Coach
Craddock had nothing but praise for the 2nd year guard out of Montreal.
"I've told people all year long that any time Dany Charlery brings his
A-game, we're on a different level," said the Canada West Coach of the
Year following the game. "He's one of those guys that can create his
own shot and he can create defensive turnovers, which we can get out
and run and score on. He just willed us to Halifax in the first half,
and didn?t wilt under any of the pressure."
"I started off
good tonight, and my teammates were after me to keep it going," said
Charlery following the game. "It felt good, so I just kept releasing
the ball. All the guys were excited about tonight, it was a do-or-die
night and everyone wants to go to Halifax."
Three other Cats
scored in double figures, Yul Michel had 18 points off 4 for 8 shooting
from the field and 10 for 12 shooting from the foul-line. Chad Jacobson
and Adam Hartman had 14 and 13 points respectively, both added 5
assists. Yuri Whyms had 9 points and 10 boards on the night.
The Vikes were lead by Canada West 2nd team All-Star Jacob Doerksen
with 18 points. Brandon Ellis notched 16 for the Vikes off 8 for 13
shooting, and Josh Whyte added 14 points of his own.
The
Bobcats shot a below-par 28.6% from beyond the arc, but a respectable
54.2% from the field while going 75.8% from the free throw line. The
Vikes went 21.1% from 3-point range, 47.0% from the field and 50.0%
from the line. The Cats out rebounded the Vikes 41-21.
The
other Canada West semi-final saw the University of British Columbia
Thunderbirds topple over the University of Saskatchewan Huskies 76-68.
Andrew Spagrud dropped a game-high 30 points in a losing cause for the
Huskies. Kyle Grant had a notable night with 12 points, 8 assists, and
4 steals. Canada West MVP Casey Archibald lead the way for the
Thunderbirds with 29 points and 7 assists. Bryson Kool and Chris Dyck
chipped in with 13 and 10 points respectively.
Thus brings a
showdown between the host BU Bobcats and the UBC Thunderbirds for the
Canada West Championship. Head Coach Barnaby Craddock and the rest of
the # 1 ranked Bobcat squad are thrilled with the earned trip to
Nationals but know that they have one more bump along the way. "I'll be
honest with you, we're happy to go to Halifax. On the way one of our
goals was to get the Canada West Championship, so we have to come out
tomorrow night against a very good UBC team and let the chips fall as
they may. It should be an exciting game. I told (UBC Head Coach) Kevin
Hanson that they deservedly qualified for Halifax, they've also had a
strong year and they deserve to be there. We?re going to go battle with
them tomorrow night to see who wins Canada West and you never know,
maybe we'll meet up with them again in Halifax."
University of
Victoria and University of Saskatchewan square off at 6pm for the
Canada West Bronze, while the Brandon University Bobcats and the
University of British Columbia are to follow with a 8pm tip-off for the
Canada West Championship.
Brandon University Bobcats from victory Friday night as they cruised to
a 93 -79 victory over the visiting University of Victoria Vikes earning
their spot in the Canada West Final and a trip to nationals in Halifax.
Leading by 24 at the half, the Cats held off a late U of Vic attack to
win their 16th straight game in front of a packed crowd at the BU
gymnasium.
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"It was phenomenal to get up that much on a team as strong as U of
Vic," said second-year Head Coach Barnaby Craddock. "They've had a
great season and I think we had to really bring a solid game to do
that. You have to credit them, they've had a good year and we're lucky
to get this game in our home gym in front of our fans. We just knew we
had to come out and play well in order to beat a quality team like U of
Vic and I think we?ve done that."
Dany Charlery did it all for
the Bobcats, 27 points (18 of which in the first half), 9 rebounds, 7
steals and 3 assists. His efforts didn't go unnoticed, as Coach
Craddock had nothing but praise for the 2nd year guard out of Montreal.
"I've told people all year long that any time Dany Charlery brings his
A-game, we're on a different level," said the Canada West Coach of the
Year following the game. "He's one of those guys that can create his
own shot and he can create defensive turnovers, which we can get out
and run and score on. He just willed us to Halifax in the first half,
and didn?t wilt under any of the pressure."
"I started off
good tonight, and my teammates were after me to keep it going," said
Charlery following the game. "It felt good, so I just kept releasing
the ball. All the guys were excited about tonight, it was a do-or-die
night and everyone wants to go to Halifax."
Three other Cats
scored in double figures, Yul Michel had 18 points off 4 for 8 shooting
from the field and 10 for 12 shooting from the foul-line. Chad Jacobson
and Adam Hartman had 14 and 13 points respectively, both added 5
assists. Yuri Whyms had 9 points and 10 boards on the night.
The Vikes were lead by Canada West 2nd team All-Star Jacob Doerksen
with 18 points. Brandon Ellis notched 16 for the Vikes off 8 for 13
shooting, and Josh Whyte added 14 points of his own.
The
Bobcats shot a below-par 28.6% from beyond the arc, but a respectable
54.2% from the field while going 75.8% from the free throw line. The
Vikes went 21.1% from 3-point range, 47.0% from the field and 50.0%
from the line. The Cats out rebounded the Vikes 41-21.
The
other Canada West semi-final saw the University of British Columbia
Thunderbirds topple over the University of Saskatchewan Huskies 76-68.
Andrew Spagrud dropped a game-high 30 points in a losing cause for the
Huskies. Kyle Grant had a notable night with 12 points, 8 assists, and
4 steals. Canada West MVP Casey Archibald lead the way for the
Thunderbirds with 29 points and 7 assists. Bryson Kool and Chris Dyck
chipped in with 13 and 10 points respectively.
Thus brings a
showdown between the host BU Bobcats and the UBC Thunderbirds for the
Canada West Championship. Head Coach Barnaby Craddock and the rest of
the # 1 ranked Bobcat squad are thrilled with the earned trip to
Nationals but know that they have one more bump along the way. "I'll be
honest with you, we're happy to go to Halifax. On the way one of our
goals was to get the Canada West Championship, so we have to come out
tomorrow night against a very good UBC team and let the chips fall as
they may. It should be an exciting game. I told (UBC Head Coach) Kevin
Hanson that they deservedly qualified for Halifax, they've also had a
strong year and they deserve to be there. We?re going to go battle with
them tomorrow night to see who wins Canada West and you never know,
maybe we'll meet up with them again in Halifax."
University of
Victoria and University of Saskatchewan square off at 6pm for the
Canada West Bronze, while the Brandon University Bobcats and the
University of British Columbia are to follow with a 8pm tip-off for the
Canada West Championship.