Men's Weekend Recap: See You Again

The top seed may still be in jeopardy, but that won't stop them from one last tune-up before the postseason.

Friday - VIU 91, Douglas 44

You'd think that the Mariners would have gotten over their stunning loss to Douglas last November.

They still haven't, and it showed.

Douglas took an early lead on a Griffin White three, but never saw the lead again. A 27-7 VIU run in the second quarter powered them to a blowout victory over the Royals.

Four players reached double digits for VIU: Kye Kotapski-Tinga had 21 points off the bench, Winston Cole had 19, Rylan Adams tied his career high with 13, and Levi Van Egdom had 12. Though Kaleb Wilson didn't get double digits in points, he still earned Player of the Game honours with a game-high 16 rebounds.

Lorenzo Bonamin was the only Royal to reach double digits with 14 points, adding nine rebounds in the loss. Griffin White and Derrick Monroe were close behind with nine and six points respectively.

Saturday - VIU 103, Douglas 66

While closer than Friday's game, the outcome was never really in doubt. Even as the Royals took a 15-8 lead halfway through the first quarter, VIU remembered they had playoff position to play for and hit the gas. The second quarter, which saw the Mariners double the Royals in points, was punctuated by a buzzer beater from Winston Cole, who finished with 32 points. VIU held serve the rest of the way to pick up their nineteenth win of the season.

In addition to Cole's 32-piece, Keyonte Beals added 24 points on 75% shooting while adding a game-high four steals. Kai Leighton added five points, seven rebounds, and seven assists in his final regular season game.

Lorenzo Bonamin had another double-digit effort, scoring 16 points and pulling down six rebounds. This time, he had a much stronger supporting cast: Derrick Monroe dropped 15 points, and Hunter Thomson capped his collegiate career with 11 points.

VIU enters the PACWEST championships as the #2 seed. They will face either Capilano or Okanagan in the semifinals. Regardless of what happens in the PACWEST championships, they will return home in March as the host team for the CCAA men's basketball national championship.