A knee injury has thrown Sam Raphael's season into doubt.
Raphael, a six-foot-two swingman who was named top defensive player for the UNBC men's basketball team in 2009-10, did not suit up during weekend home games against the Capilano University Blues and could be sidelined for an extended period of time.
"We don't know what his status is, to be really honest," said UNBC coach Todd Jordan. "He could be back in a couple of weeks or he could be done for the year. But we're going to be real safe with it. What we really don't want to do is put him in a situation where he might really hurt himself and be in trouble and have it cost him his career."
Raphael, a Duchess Park graduate who's in his third year with the Northern Timberwolves, had a knee problem early in the season and was then hobbled by an ankle sprain. His ankle is now fine but, recently, the knee has been giving him trouble again.
Raphael is scheduled to see a doctor some time this week.
Female Timberwolves move up
The UNBC Northern Timberwolves are back inside the top 15 in the Canadian Colleges Athletic Association.
When the new CCAA rankings were released on Tuesday, the UNBC women's basketball team found itself in the No. 11 position. The Timberwolves -- who were No. 12 earlier this season -- moved back onto the national list after two weekend wins against the highly-touted Capilano University Blues. At the Northern Sport Centre, the T-wolves beat the Blues 99-72 on Friday and 83-74 on Saturday. UNBC now stands at 8-3 in the B.C. Colleges Athletic Association.
The Blues entered the doubleheader with a 9-0 record. They had been ranked seventh in the CCAA but are now 12th.
Both UNBC teams will be back on the NSC court this coming Friday and Saturday for games against the Kwantlen Eagles. Start times are 6 p.m. (women) and 8 p.m. (men).
