— SP OPiS

- Douglas Basketball

Darren Paterson, Sports Editor

Women Squeak In

The Douglas College Royals women’s bas-
ketball team tripped and stumbled their
way into the playoffs last week with a
74-54 win over the Kwantlen Eagles. It
was a last-ditch effort that paid off for the
Royals, who also got a little help when
they needed it most, as Langara the team
that they were racing against for the 6th
and final playoff spot, lost 4-13 to
Malaspina. Douglas finished the regular
season with a 9-9 record and while they
have not played exceedingly well over the
past couple of weeks, their efforts were
enough for a playoff pay off.

The tournament is being held this
weekend at Capilano College and the
Royals will likely play against UNBC (a
team which they have lost to twice) in the
first round of the tournament. However,
the teams have not played each other
since week six, nearly two months ago,
and the Royals have managed a 4-1
record in their last five games of the sea-
son to enter the playoffs with some
confidence.

But UNBC are in third place and many
of their wins have been commanding
ones. They have often won by more than
ten points and they certainly did not need
any help in making the playoffs.

The other possible opponent is
Okanagan, a team that is very similar sta-
tistically to UNBC. They have also won
several blowouts and would provide a
great challenge for Douglas. But whether
they play UNBC or Okanagan, the Royals
ate going to need to be on top of their
game to do anything more than provide a
light warm-up for their opponents.

20 | www.theotherpress.ca

 

Men Too Little Too Late

Actually, it’s more like way too little, way
too late, as the DC men’s basketball team
let down their fans with a terrible season.
They did close out the season with a 32-
point win over the Kwantlen Eagles, but if
they think that one blowout win can erase
the memories of a season of failure,
they’re wrong.

Time after time the Royals let us down
when it really mattered and, by the end of
the season, they were only able to play
with confidence against the 1-17 Eagles.
Sure, they won some tough games, but it
seemed like they learned nothing from
their NCAA experience against the
University of Georgia Bulldogs.

In that game, the Royals were able to
keep up with the Bulldogs when they had
confidence and they got hammered when
they didn’t. The lesson seemed simple
enough, but the players just weren’t able
to keep that confidence and that is why
the team finished with a disappointing
8-10, a record that left them well out of
the playoffs.

And unlike the men’s volleyball team,
this was a team that was built to win now
and cannot simply look to the future.
They had a chance to succeed this season,
but they wasted it, and now the prognosis
looks bleak for next year.

But at least the season is over and the
fans will no longer have to endure anoth-
er disappointing loss from the Royals
men’s basketball team.

 

 

 

 

Don't let excellence pass you by

Excellence abounds at Douglas College. And here’s your chance to acknowledge those
exceptional people by nominating them for a Douglas College Educational Excellence
Award.

“We really hope that people make the effort to recognize the people who make a
difference by nominating them for an award,” says Janice Penner, EASL instructor and
former Educational Excellence committee member.

The four categories for the awards are: Student, Faculty, Staff and Administrative
Excellence. Nomination forms outlining the criteria are available in the Library and
department offices on both campuses (or contact Debra Flewelling at 604-527-5190

flewelld@douglas.bc.ca).

One nomination form listing three nominators, along with a letter from each nominato}
addressing the award criteria, must be completed and sent to Debra Flewelling, Library
(New Westminster or David Lam). Other supporting documents, such as reference
letters, evaluations and other relevant material is also welcome.

The deadline for nominations is May 13, 2005.

 

 

March 2/2005