UNBC men put their best foot forward in Victoria
Domination from start to finish.
That's the best way to describe a Saturday victory by the UNBC Northern Timberwolves men's basketball team. The Timberwolves, on the court in Victoria, thumped the Camosun College Chargers 106-58. The previous night, UNBC wasn't nearly as strong and escaped with an 86-76 win against Camosun. T-wolves head coach Mike Raimbault wasn't pleased with that performance and neither were any of his players, so the guys in UNBC shirts were considerably more focused for the rematch.
"(Friday) night, our overall intensity, we didn't do a good job of sustaining it for the full 40 minutes," Raimbault said. "I thought that (the Chargers) played well and hit some shots (Friday) that they weren't able to (Saturday). I just think our overall intensity and effort was a little bit different."
The second-place T-wolves now boast an 8-1 record and, with 822 points scored, are unmatched in terms of offensive production in the B.C. Colleges Athletic Association. The Chargers, with the two losses, dropped to the bottom of the 10-team league.
Within B.C. and Canada, the Timberwolves are looking up at only the Vancouver Island University Mariners of Nanaimo. In the Canadian Colleges Athletic Association national rankings, the Mariners (9-0) and T-wolves are now first and second respectively.
On Saturday, UNBC led 28-12 after one quarter and 58-25 at halftime. By the end of three quarters, the T-wolves had stretched their advantage to 86-42.
The Timberwolves -- with Jesse Smith injured and Didier Sam academically ineligible -- are dealing with some player absences in the post position. But, in the second game against the Chargers, they controlled the paint at both ends of the floor. Offensively, six-foot-nine rookie post Kevan Madsen scored 20 points and third-year post Dennis Stark drained 13.
"Madsen played unbelievable," said shooting guard Jose Araujo, who led UNBC with 21 points. "He was like a monster down low. He was getting blocked shots and dunking on people. He stepped his game up a lot and this is what we need from our young centre. Dennis, he hustled and did what he always does. He always brings the energy."
In the lopsided win, guard Sebastien-Kevin Louis chipped in with 12 points. In fact, all 10 players who saw floor-time scored at least five points.
The Timberwolves will be back on their home floor on Friday. Starting at 8 p.m., they'll take on the Kwantlen Polytechnic University Eagles of Surrey.
