Falcons basketball men and women’s end their season on Vancouver Island

Reported by Darren Amner

Both the men’s and women’s basketball teams signed off the term this weekend with games at Vancouver Island University and Camosun.

The men lost the first night 103-83, but came from behind to win 105-103 on the second night. Player Tyler Anderson feels the team didn’t come out to compete in the first game.

“We found ourselves down 22 at one point against Camosun, but we came out in the second and slowly chipped away at their lead,” Anderson said.

It was a tough weekend for the women’s team, who took two losses playing short-staffed due to injury. The first night they lost 51-72 to VIU, which is ranked top five in the country.  The next day against Camosun they lost 69-76 in a game that they led for 36 minutes.

Coach is proud of his team

This has been women’s coach Curtis Nelson’s first season with the team. So far, Nelson said the women are like sponges and that they come to practise wanting to learn. He said he feels like the team is on the right track going into 2019.

“We competed very hard. The fact we were competitive and we didn’t roll over in the face of adversity makes me extremely proud,” Nelson said.

Falcon men’s have improved since the start

It’s been an up and down season for the men, who are a younger team.

Point guard Tim Choi feels experience is important when playing in this league and the new group of players took some time to settle.

“Coming in from high school these guys were all the stars of their teams. They weren’t used to being yelled at by other guys,” he said. “Now they know it’s nothing personal, we laugh and joke and the chemistry is getting really good now.”