Men's Weekend Recap: Business As Usual In Penticton

Friday - VIU 112, Okanagan 72

I had doubts about the Mariners going into this game. They still lack a conventional big man for the time being, and Okanagan's post-heavy offense looked ready to pull off a miracle.

It's safe to say my fears were a touch overblown.

VIU opened their season just as they did the last, with a blowout victory over the conference's punchline.

The hero for the Mariners tonight was Kye Kotapski-Tinga. In only his second career start, the Comox native scored a game-high twenty-eight points and six assists. Two other Mariners, Kai Leighton and rookie Ty Cyr reached the twenty-point threshold, with fellow offseason acquisition Ekman Sohal coming just shy with nineteen while adding four rebounds, two assists, and VIU's lone steal.

This is not to say that Okanagan laid down to die; they fought valiantly in front of their home crowd. Noah Steingart and Phil Holmes combined for thirty-one points, while Ryan Dekleva dished the rock five times and Trevon Roots made an early case for Defensive Player of the Year with four boards and a block.

Okanagan's depth also showed promise, with all but two of their players recording at least two points. Unfortunately for the Coyotes, VIU had similar depth, with every player scoring at least four points.

Saturday - VIU 100, Okanagan 66

Don't call it a comeback.

Facing a nine-point deficit deep in the first quarter, things looked bleak for VIU. A raucous home crowd fueled the Coyotes as they made shot after shot and hounded the Mariners in the paint, but it was all VIU in the latter three, as Okanagan couldn't stop VIU's constant perimeter assault.

Ekman Sohal was the star of the show, scoring a game-high twenty-two points on 100% shooting while hitting four of his six free throws, grabbing 6 rebounds, and adding an assist and a block. Kai Leighton recorded a game-high six assists, tying with Coyotes point guard Ryan Dekleva in that category.

The Coyotes once again showed that they're not a team to be taken lightly, especially in the interior. Trevon Roots strengthened his DPOY bid with nine rebounds and three blocks, while Ryan Dekleva, Inder Deol, and Noah Steingart combined for fourty-seven of Okanagan's points.

The Mariners head back down the Coquihalla next week to take on the CBC Bearcats in Levi Van Egdom's return to Abbotsford.