It's deja vu for Dennis Stark at the 2012 men's basketball national championship.
"I have a very similar feeling," said Stark after the University of Northern British Columbia Timberwolves opened the tournament Thursday with a 88-65 win over the Red Deer College Kings in Truno, NS.
The "similar feeling" the T-wolves' captain had was to when the team won the Canadian Colleges' Athletic Association title in 2010 as the British Columbia champion.
"The fact that we were able to come in as the provincial gold medalist both years, it makes us feel really good that we came out of B.C. and that we deserve to be at the tournament," said Stark. "I really believe in the guys we have and the coaching staff we have; there's no reason why it can't be like 2010."
But before Stark and his UNBC teammates start engraving their names on the trophy this year there's two more games to win.
In the opening game, the top-seed T-wolves didn't have any trouble taking down the eighth-seed Kings, leading 44-27 at the half and 70-49 after three quarters.
"The scouting report we had before the game was very accurate and they ran the offence we knew they'd run," said Stark. "They were good at running it, but once we stuck to our defensive game plan we shut them down really well.
"We were able to give them a hard time and let our defence dictate the way they were going to play," he added.
The Kings' were able to close within 11 points late in the third quarter due to their emotional and points leader Lloyd Strickland, who led all players on the floor with 21 points, including several threes from more than a couple of feet beyond the arc.
UNBC head coach Todd Jordan said there were a few things the team needs to improve on before facing the fifth-seed Mohawk College Mountaineers in the semifinal today at 2 p.m. (PST).
"There were definitely some things we could've cleaned up," said Jordan. "We didn't rebound as well as I would've liked and there were a couple of small stretches of defensive lapses."
Strickland obtained his fourth foul late in the third quarter, so in order to preserve his eligibility for late in the game the Kings' took their leader out, meaning the T-wolves' didn't have to worry about his three-point shots.
The Kings were further deflated when UNBC rookie Billy Cheng threw up a buzzer beater on the run at the end of the third quarter and watched it go through the hoop for three.
"I think it kind of disheartened them a little bit," said Jordan.
Jose Araujo led the T-wolves' with 20 points, including four three-pointers, and helped take momentum away from the Kings after Strickland's threes. Unsurprisingly, the T-wolves' six-foot-10 post Keven Madsen led the team with eight rebounds.
Late in the game, the T-wolves' depth was clear when they subbed in Lucas Groot, Dan Stark and Mike Conlin and didn't miss a beat.
"I was in there at the end with Luke, Mike and my little brother and we were making things happen there down the stretch," said Stark, whose brother Dan had a couple lay ups. "We're a very deep team and everybody is dedicated to the T-wolf goal."
The T-wolves will take on the Mountaineers today after the fifth-seed pulled off a mild upset of the fourth-seed Vanier College Cheetahs 101-96. Stark said it was interesting watching such an up tempo game.
"Both those [eastern] teams just like to score - it didn't look like they were very focussed on stopping their man," said Stark. "They've got players that are comparable but as a team and as a mindset B.C. has a whole different focus. I think B.C. is a much more defensive-minded league."
Stark said the zone defence the Mountaineers' appear to play for the entire 40 minutes is something the T-wolves have answers for.
"I don't think they're used to playing against a team that really hangs its hat on defence and, I feel like, hopefully, that should be our difference," said the fifth-year player.
The Calgary-based Mount Royal University earned the third semifinal berth with a 81-70 win over Halifax's Mount Saint Vincent University.
