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March 12, 2003

Royals’ Season Comes to a Disappointing End

 

 

ournament

ree

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

en's Draw
UNBC 84 | _|2 UCC 102
Douglas 69 3 UNBC 74 \ Gold Medal Capilano
5 Capilano 88 ->— Provincial
Capilano 80 | |5 Capilano 75 |/|3 UCC __ 65 Champions
Kwantlen 60 | ]4 UCFV 67
|

Bronze Medal

3 UNBC 75

4 UCFV 65

 

 

 

 

 

Jordan Cripps
Sports Editor

UNBC 84
Douglas College 69

Unfortunately for the Douglas College Men's
Basketball Team, their season came to an end two
games earlier than they hoped. Going into the first
game of the BCCAA Provincial Championships,
the sixth ranked Royals were certainly the under-
dogs against the third seed UNBC Timberwolves.

The final score of the game is a bit deceptive
since most of the points UNBC scored in the last
1:14 came as a result of the Royals fouling in order
to stop the clock. 1:14 was also the last time the
Royals were able to sink a field goal. Until that
point there were just five points separating the
teams.

The game began with the teams exchanging
small leads. First, the Timberwolves would get the
lead and then the Royals would respond with a
two or three point lead of their own. Actually, nei-
ther team shot the ball particularly well in the
early going as it took over a minute for the first
point to be scored, by Douglas’s standout forward
Jim Martin. The first five minutes of the game
were about the teams trying to get into some sort
of a shooting groove and in the first few minutes,
it wasnt clear which team was going to make the
most of their shooting opportunities. After five
minutes of play, the score was just 9-7 in favour of
the Royals. Martin was in on at least five of his
team’s first nine points and continued his strong
play throughout the first half.

The last 13 minutes of the first half more than
made up for the slow offensive start as both teams
began to pile on the points. Despite the slow start,
the Royals connected on 40 percent of their field
goals while the Timberwolves were slightly more
accurate, making 47 percent of their shots. Both
teams were strong defensively but in different
ways. The Royals played a very aggressive defen-
sive scheme, attempting to steal the ball at every
opportunity, while the Timberwolves, using a
more laid-back approach, tried to force the Royals
into taking desperate shots by keeping them on
the outside as much as possible.

It is in this area that credit must be given to the
Timberwolves’ post players, Greg Brown and Phil
Nadrazsky, for limiting the effectiveness of the
Royals’ height advantage. Although the Royals
had this attribute, the “Wolves were able to use a
weight discrepancy in their favour, muscling Ian
Hogan, and at times, Jim Martin, out of prime
offensive territory. Nadrazsky was also able to use
his bulk on the offensive end of the court to cre-
ate points for himself.

Despite a huge first half performance by Jim
Martin, recording 15 of his team high 21 points to
go along with the two blocks and two rebounds
and a steal he was able to create during the open-
ing frame, the Royals trailed 38-27 at halftime.
Martin punctuated his outstanding first half per-
formance with a spectacular two-handed dunk
midway through the period.

Truly, the first half was a contrast in styles. The
Royals ran the floor quickly, advancing the ball as
quickly as possible, while the Timberwolves
adopted a more patient approach to their offensive
play. This patience caused a problem for the

Royals, who were hurt by UNBC’s outside shoot-
ing as the team hit six from outside the arc during
the first half.

Coming out to begin the second half, the Royals
seemed to have a renewed determination as they
began to fight their way back into the game. It
wasn't a rapid turnaround, however. The Royals
were able to slowly cut into the UNBC lead.
Unfortunately, they weren't able to erase it com-
pletely. Until there was 13:49 left to play, that is.
It was only then, off of a three-pointer by Taylor
Cherris-Wilding, that the Royals were able to take
the lead, 46-45.

Having this narrow margin seemed to give the
Royals some more life and they were able to build
up on the lead a little bit, as Cherris-Wilding
knocked down a jump shot to give the Royals a
48-45 lead. The Royals would keep this margin
thanks to a jump shot by Jim Martin a few sec-
onds later. Again, the game began to resemble a
see-saw as the teams traded leads back and forth.
Unfortunately for the Royals, a Martin layup
would provide them with their last lead of the
game, 58—57 with just eight minutes remaining in
the game.

The Timberwolves came back and took the lead
for good with 6:18 left on the clock, after a three
point shot by UNBC’s Player of the Game Gene
Wolff. It was Wolff who was responsible for turn-
ing the tide against the Royals. They just didn’t
have an answer for the shooting guard, who
recorded 21 points, including three baskets from
outside the three-point line. In addition to his
scoring, he was just three assists and one rebound
from recording a triple-double. The Royals just
didn’t have an answer for him.

It was Wolff who the Royals were forced to foul
down the stretch. He made them pay for this,
making four free-throws in the last minute to
secure the victory for the Timberwolves. Based on
UNBC'’s perfect free-throw shooting during the
final minute, the score began to appear lopsided as
the Royals gave the Timberwolves seven points off
of free-throws during the final minute. The Royals
decision to foul didn’t have the desired effect and
the Timberwolves went on to the 84—69 victory.

For their strong efforts, Jim Martin and Gene
Wolff were named Players of the Game for their
respective teams.

After the game, Coach Munro was certainly dis-
appointed with the loss but was very proud of the
way his “guys came back” against the
Timberwolves. He also expressed how he felt that
his team had “played well against a very good
team.” Reflecting on the season, he views it as a
positive experience, from the team’s overall record
to the number of special trips the team was able to
make to places like Alaska and Idaho. Although it
is uncertain just what next year’s Royals roster will
look like, he feels that there will be a strong nucle-
us to build a team around.

Despite the disappointing result at the
Provincial Championships, the Royals can feel
proud of their season, achieving a 10-8 record in
the BCCAA regular season, and at one point dur-
ing the season, being ranked as one of the top ten
college teams in the entire country.

 

 

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