The Quest men's b-ballers have now dribbled with every team in the British Columbia Colleges Athletic Association after facing the country's seventh-ranked UBC Okanagan Lakers on Friday (Jan. 4).The freshman Kermodes, who are in their BCCAA demonstration season, dropped a 100-65 loss against the much lauded Lakers at the 8th Annual Kwantlen Winter Invitational Tournament.
The Kelowna-based team, which has only lost to the country's top-ranked Douglas College Royals this season, was too much for the young squad to handle, said coach Steve Anderson.
"But we competed well with them and I was happy with their effort," he said."Again, we struggled to defend in the post. So they have a couple bigger athletic guys who were able to get some easy baskets."
Problems in the post position plagued Quest through most of the tournament. The Kermodes simply don't size-up to most opponents, so they are disadvantaged when it comes to rebounding and scoring in close. The challenge was perhaps most evident in the tournament's first game against the towering Langara College Falcons on Wednesday (Jan. 2).
Six-foot-seven Falcon Karol Cybula was able to shoot three-pointers at will in the first quarter because Quest was trying so hard to protect the low post. An offensive option always seemed open to Langara, which led the way for a 98-61 Kermode loss.Quest gave up a close third defeat against the hosting Kwantlen Eagles on Thursday (Jan. 3) when they ran into foul trouble near the game's end. The foul count was seven to one against the Kermodes in the fourth quarter, which boosted the Eagles out of sight to a 74-64 victory. Anderson said unbalanced officiating played a role in the loss.
"It made a big difference with them being able to go shoot foul shots while we weren't getting calls when we went to the basket. I won't say that determined the game but it certainly was a factor."
Despite going winless in two consecutive tournaments, the Kermodes are back in game shape after an initial lethargic return from the holidays. Team captain Bryce Froberg had an excellent tournament, controlling both shots and rebounds, said Anderson. "Bryce is probably our most selfless player in that he looks to set things up for his teammates and makes good decisions with the ball," he said. "He brings an intensity to the game that I think more of the guys need to feed off of."
Anderson said he's also pleased to have Glenn Gravengard back from an ankle injury suffered in October. Having recently struggled to make a successful return to the court, Gravengard made notable progress at Kwantlen. Anderson put him back in a starting position and Gravengard responded particularly well on defence.
"He really shut down their top perimeter scorers," said Anderson. "So even when he's not shooting the ball well, he's doing so many other things that help, just running the floor in transition and defending, it's been really nice seeing."
While the Kermodes soak up first-year experience, Anderson is scouting Grade 12 players for next year's team. Big, solid post players are on his wish list for next season. But athletic recruiting for Quest can be difficult because students have to be primarily drawn to the school's unique academic program.
"Ultimately it's the academic program that needs to interest them before basketball even becomes a consideration."The Kermodes host Camosun College at 2 p.m. on Saturday (Jan. 12).
