The Kermodes men's basketball team made its first quest to New Westminster on Saturday (Jan. 19) for a second lesson against one of the best college teams in the country.The Douglas Royals took Quest by siege from the start, ending the first quarter with a whopping 30 points and keeping the Kermodes count to a mere five points.
When the dust cleared, Douglas remained the only undefeated team in the BC College Athletic Association with a 108-59 win. It's an improvement over the 122-58 beating they sustained at home in November, and can also be seen as a valuable loss for the new university team in its BCCAA demonstration season, said coach Steve Anderson.
"Certainly the guys, I think, appreciate that level of basketball and the work we need to do to compete with the top teams in the B.C. college league," he said. "It's not that we didn't play well, it's more that they're just an outstanding team."
The purpose of the demonstration season is to start developing the school's basketball program so that it can transition into the league next year. Playing against a powerhouse may seem like learning to swim with sharks at times, but is also boosts improvements.
Fundamentals like ball trajectory are thrown for a loop when the young players go up against 6'8" defenders in their senior year.
"You're having to change the trajectory of your shots because when these guys extend their arms it's a lot longer than they're used to seeing," said Anderson.
Anderson said the Kermodes concentrated on packing the key on defence with hopes that the Royals' shooting wasn't red hot around the perimeter. Turns out the Douglas shooters were anything but cold.The women's team joined the men on the road to face Douglas for the third time.
Despite starting the game hard and playing the first five minutes to an even 9-9 score, the Kermodes fell behind. The Royals raced ahead to a 71-31 victory.Brittany Harteveld led Quest on the score sheet with 15 points, followed by Haley Jardine and Chelsey Forsberg with five points. Coach Norm Hann said a three-week break leading up to the game definitely hurt the team's momentum. But like the men's match-up, competition with Douglas is important for the Quest women's bid for a position in league play next year.
"They've been a team that has been really open to helping us in our development," said Hann. "They've played us three times and really they're not getting any benefit out of it."
Hann is confidant his team will be accepted into the league next season because of last month's positive review from BCCAA officials.Quest's men and women are showing the BCCAA they are serious by putting on a doubleheader weekend with four games over Friday and Saturday nights (Jan. 25-26) - the last home games of the season.
On Friday (Jan. 25), the women and men Kermodes face separate Squamish All Star squads made up of various local talents like coach Hann. The women play at 6 p.m. and the men play at 8 p.m. On Saturday (Jan. 26), the women Kermodes face the Kwantlen Eagles at 5 p.m., followed by the men's match-up at 7 p.m.
