Both the men's and women's Quest University basketball teams went head-to-head with a veteran group of Squamish All Stars last weekend to finish off their home schedule.
Youth trumped experience in the men's doubleheader as the Kermodes handily won the first game 98-79 and came out on top in a closer second match 96-95.
Organized by the school's director of recreation, Toran Savjord, and women's basketball head coach, Norm Hann, the All Stars knew they had to keep up with the Kermodes' fast-paced style or be left in the dust.In the first men's game, former NCAA division one player with the Air Force Academy Cory Heitz was included on the small six-player all star roster. The 6'7" Whistler Secondary School basketball coach helped the team stay in the game early with six points in the first quarter. Heitz finished the game as the top scorer with 30 points.
Hann also contributed early with high-flying rebounds and five points, but his time on the court was short-lived. Hann was ejected from the game after receiving a second technical foul for getting a bit too physical with Kermode Bryce Froberg.He and Froberg made up after the game but Hann was still disappointed he had to watch most of it from the sidelines.
"It's too bad because it's a fun game," he said. "The thing is we still play intense, which is why I probably got kicked out." The All Stars were looking for revenge the following night but with only five players and missing Heitz - the previous game's high-scorer - the All Stars' didn't look too polished.
However, the addition of former Capilano College superstar and BCCAA all-time top scorer Choyal Brown worked to balance the scales.Brown's ability to consistently weave through the Kermode zone led to 41 points -possibly an all-time high at the university. The All Stars headed into the final quarter prepared to seal off an eight-point gap.
Partway through, Hann fouled out of the game. And because the All Stars didn't have a replacement, they had to finish the game on the penalty kill. Quest's Tyler Thorau showed no mercy, tallying 16 points in the fourth quarter to blast by the All Stars and help narrowly take the game 96-95.
The Quest women's basketball team played its final two home games, splitting the doubleheader weekend with a win and a loss.The Kermodes warmed up against a hodgepodge team also named the Squamish All Stars, which is made up of six local b-ballers including Quest recreation programmer and conditioning coach Jen Segger-Gigg.
She led the All Stars with 13 points but the Kermodes were one step ahead, using a combination of quick ball movement and sharp shooting to win the game 75-40."I have to encourage them because at the end of the day that's the team I'm going for," said Segger-Gigg with a smile.
The scoring was spread out on the Quest side with Chelsey Forsberg and Brittany Harteveld racking up 15 points each, Courtney Sampson tallying 14, Haley Jardine hitting for 12 and Ugen Lhazin contributing 10 points.
The Kwantlen Eagles visited the hill for the year's final home game the next night. Although they're at the bottom of the standings in the British Columbia Colleges Athletic Association the Eagles' experience and full roster made them favourites to win. The Kermodes challenged hard in the first quarter but after a defensive collapse and too many missed shots the game started to slip away in the second quarter and the Eagles ended the half up 41-18.
The Kermodes ended up losing 71-40, but coach Norm Hann said he was encouraged by his team's performance. Although the odds are against them, they work hard to build the women's basketball program from the ground up.
