OC Coyote men show grit in pair of college hoop wins

Displaying poise, patience and endurance, the Okanagan College Coyotes swept the Camosun Chargers of Victoria in men’s exhibition basketball play on the weekend.

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The Coyotes, returning to their home court at Immaculata Regional High School after two weekends on the road, opened on Friday with a 100-72 victory and closed out by defeating the visitors 88-86 on Saturday.

The Coyotes led for most of the opener and went into halftime with a 13-point lead, but got into foul trouble early, with several starters picking up three fouls each before the break.

The OC bench players had the opportunity to get in some quality minutes and they didn’t let it go to waste. Led by Seth Blundell, they made a statement that they could be counted on.

Blundell — the player of the game — along with Connor McCormack, Spencer Braam, Trajan Boyd, Jesse Vissia and Tye Oddy managed to extend the Coyotes’ lead in the third quarter until it became a runaway in the fourth.

Curtis Wilson, the team’s leading scorer this season, continued his offensive supremacy, scoring 34 points to lead the Coyotes. Ryan Morck contributed 15 points and Immaculata grad, Michael Gini, added 10.

OC Coach Dino Gini said he and his staff continue to stress team play.

“We want to share the ball and make that one extra pass, and we did that tonight,” said Gini. “Our performance was strong throughout the entire game, but what I was most impressed with was the quality minutes our support players gave us. We were very pleased with all of them.”

The Saturday game was a quick turnaround and a test of character for both teams as they hit the court at 9:30 a.m.

The Coyotes led for most of the game but the Chargers hung around and managed to take the lead and give the hosts a scare for a brief period in the fourth quarter.But OC played with poise and recaptured the lead late in the final frame and held on for the two-point win.

Wilson’s 21 points was tops for the winners, with Mt. Boucherie grad, Jeff Tubbs, adding 19 points and earning player-of-the-game honours.

“I was very happy with the mental preparation our guys had,” said Gini. “They handled the quick turnaround really well. We knew Camosun was going to come out hard after the first game and our guys knew they had to match the intensity, especially at the start of the game.

“I was also very impressed with Jeff (Tubbs). He played one of his best games as an OC Coyote and was well-deserving of being selected the player of the game. He continues to be a leader and this morning he put his offensive talents on display in a very impressive fashion.”

In women’s action against the Vancouver Island University Mariners, the Coyotes, hit hard by injuries and the flu bug, were playing without starters Ciara Bamford, Rebekah Salway and OC September player-of-the-month, Megan Admussen-Blair, as well as others.

As the men’s team did in their first game, the Yotes showed they can compete with one of the elite college programs in the nation, losing a close game against the powerhouse VIU Mariners of Nanaimo.

Despite missing key performers, the Coyotes managed to keep the contest close until the very end when fatigue and a short bench clearly caught up to the team.

One bright spot for the Coyotes was Kelowna Secondary School graduate, Madison Dickie, who came through with a strong performance and was selected as player of the game.

“Our bench was huge and they gave us an opportunity to win,” noted head coach Andrew Gini. “We just came up a bit short, but I’m proud of our effort, especially given the circumstances.”

Both the OC men’s and women’s team continue their exhibition season this weekend. They play host to Langara College on Saturday at Kelowna Secondary School, with the women beginning at 6 p.m. and the men at 8 p.m.

On Sunday, the women’s tip-off it 11 a.m. and the men’s at 1 p.m. at Immaculata Regional High School.

Earlier story:

Four college basketball players return to Kelowna Secondary School