Men's Weekend Recap: Game of the Year?

On the first two days after Halloween, the Mariners and Falcons created a thriller not seen this side of Robert Enright.

There's no better set of games I'd return to the booth for.

Saturday - VIU 100, Langara 88 (OT)

I don't care what you have to say about any game that comes after this.

This was the game of the year.

Game of the decade, even.

At first, things looked bleak for VIU. Aaron Ungprasert, a former VIU commit, nailed four straight shots to put Langara up 10-2, but timely shooting from Kye Kotapski-Tinga and Ryan Bastian got the Mariners back into the contest. A pair of layups from Kye put VIU up 16-10 early in the first quarter, but the Falcons responded immediately. A pair of and-one layups, including a demoralizing dunk from Nixon Owusu, took the lead away from VIU.

The Mariners wouldn't hold the lead for the rest of the half.

A late three from Patrick Robinson put Langara up 26-16 before the second quarter. Counting an early layup from Ehi Obetoh, the Falcons were on an 18-0 run against the last undefeated team in the PACWEST.

The Mariners and Falcons traded layups across the next minute before a Joaquin Bautista free throw increased the Langara lead to 14.

Markus Modrovic spearheaded a run for the Mariners that saw them slowly chip away at the lead, chipping it to a one-point deficit in the waning stages of the half, but a three from Keito Kusaki gave the Falcons a four-point cushion heading into halftime.

The Mariners came into the third quarter with enough firepower to power a small city. A trio of Kotapski-Tinga layups gave the Mariners their first lead since the first quarter. Kye dueled with Ungprasert throughout the fledgling stages of the quarter as both teams traded the lead.

A pair of layups from Ekman Sohal and Kai Leighton, as well as two free throws from Winston Cole, provided extra support for Kye's career day as the VIU lead grew to as high as 12. The Falcons refused to go down without a fight and put the game back within three with one quarter left to play.

Joaquin Bautista restored the lead for Langara, but they couldn't hold on for long. Another demoralizing three from Kotapski-Tinga seemed to put the game away, but four combined points from James Zongo put the Falcons up by two with 92 seconds left.

Despite fouling Kai Leighton, the Falcons could rest easy. Leighton only made one of his free throws, and the shot clock was off.

Start the bus.

Turn out the lights.

All Luka Subotic had to do was pass to Patrick Robinson in front of the scorer's table and let the clock run out.

Robinson never grabbed it.

Mariners ball.

It's not over yet.

After an inbound pass from Levi Van Egdom, Kai Leighton found a wide open Ryan Bastian who drilled a three to send the crowd into a frenzy.

Ryan Bastian.

In the eleventh hour.

Timeout, Langara.

Can you believe it?

The Falcons can.

After a missed shot from Ungprasert to win the game, Luka Subotic grabbed the rebound and nailed a buzzer-beating jump shot to tie the game at 85 and force overtime.

It's not over yet.

At least, it wasn't for roughly a minute.

Levi Van Egdom got the party started with a pair of threes, and the Mariners never trailed again. Langara only managed one meaningful point, a Nixon Owusu free throw, but unfortunately ran out of gas as the Mariners put the finishing touches on a night that VIU will not soon forget.

Kye Kotapski-Tinga had the game of his life, scoring a career-high 38(!) points on 16-24 shooting. Ryan Bastian followed close behind with 18 points, including a crucial three in the final seconds. Breandan McLaughlin even made a return to the lineup, though he would only record one foul.

Langara's leading scorer was Aaron Ungprasert, who scored 24 points against the same team that recruited him in 2021. Ed Asirit added 11 of his own, while James Zongo added eight off the bench before he fouled out.

Sunday - VIU 88, Langara 61

After last night's overtime thriller, any game trying to top it would face a tall task.

Instead, the home crowd was treated to a relaxing, box-standard victory.

Much like their sisters in arms, the Mariners wasted no time establishing the pecking order. A pair of James Zongo free throws gave Langara an 8-6 lead halfway through the first quarter, but the Falcons would never lead after that. Every starter for VIU recorded at least 12 points, including Kye Kotapski-Tinga with a game-high 18.

Breandan McLaughlin scored his first points in over a calendar year, dropping five points and five rebounds.

The Mariners head back to the Lower Mainland next week to take on the Douglas Royals, before returning home the following week for a crucial tilt with the Capilano Blues.