Playoff Preview: Burning Bridges
VIU opens up its nationals on home court against the Lethbridge Kodiaks
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
19 | 19 | 13 | 12 | 63 |
|
|
19 | 15 | 22 | 19 | 75 |
Team Stats
Lethbridge Polytechnic
| Game Statistics | Lethbridge Polytechnic | VIU |
|---|---|---|
| Field Goals | (21-70) | (30-71) |
| Field Goal % | 30.0% | 42.3% |
| Rebounds | 38 | 37 |
| Assists | 5 | 14 |
| Turnovers | 23 | 20 |
| Pts off Turnovers | 23 | 27 |
| 2nd Chance Pts | 2 | 10 |
| Pts in the Paint | 26 | 40 |
| Fastbreak Pts | 0 | 0 |
| Bench Pts | 9 | 23 |
NANAIMO, BC - The Mariners have been given the rare opportunity to compete in a national championship tournament in front of home fans on home court. The first challenge comes from the ACAC (Alberta) conference wildcard entry: Lethbridge Polytechnic Kodiaks.
Who, When & Where
- CCAA National Championship Quarterfinal: PACWEST champion VIU Mariners (19-5 season, 2-0 playoffs, CCAA ranked #8) vs ACAC Wildcard Lethbridge Kodiaks (15-6 regular season, 2-1 playoffs, CCAA ranked #14)
- Wednesday, March 18, at 6 pm Pacific / 7 pm Mountain, VIU Gymnasium, Nanaimo, BC
- Visit the Tournament Website for more details
Tune In
CCAA tournament games are streamed live via a pay-per-view service, CCAA Live.
How We Got Here
The Mariners finished in second place in the PACWEST and earned a bye to the PACWEST conference semifinals. VIU defeated the Capilano Blues 98-80 to qualify for the PACWEST championship game. Because the Mariners had a guaranteed spot at the national championship as the host school, the Camosun Chargers automatically qualified for the tournament as the other semifinal winner.
The title game was a classic back-and-forth battle between the Mariners and Chargers until VIU's Kai Leighton sank a three-pointer at the buzzer to give VIU a 78-75 win.
Lethbridge finished in second place in the ACAC South Conference and their 15-6 record was fourth best in the ACAC. The Kodiaks won their conference quarterfinal 75-61 over NAIT and their semifinal 86-67 over the tournament hosts Lakeland College. As the ACAC conference had earned a wildcard berth, Lethbridge's semifinal win got them a spot in the national championship.
In the conference final, the Kodiaks and Keyano Huskies were tied at the half but the Huskies eked ahead thoughout the second half to win 86-79.
Watch Out Now
Lethbridge: Levi Balderson does it all for the Kodiaks and was named an ACAC South Division First Team All-Star. Nathaniel Hosannah is another top scorer and was named to the second all-star team. ACAC Marley Kenion was named ACAC South Division rookie of the year.
VIU: In addition to hitting the conference gold-winning shot, Kai Leighton was named the PACWEST tournament MVP. This added on to his accolades as a conference first team all-star and PACWEST Defensive Player of the Year. Ryan Bastian and Kye Kotapski-Tinga were named PACWEST second team all-stars while Win Cole and Keyonte Beals earned PACWEST tournament all-star nods.
The Stakes
The winner moves on to the CCAA semifinal on March 19 at 8 pm against winner of the St. Thomas vs Humber quarterfinal. The losers of those two games will move to the bronze side of the bracket and will play on March 19 at 3 pm Pacific.
For more information, please contact VIU Mariners Communications & Sports Information Coordinator Matt Carter.