NEWS RELEASES

Mariners Take Provincial Silver !!
Mar 08 2005

A Nanaimo News Bulletin Story

The Malaspina Mariners men's basketball team may have just barely qualified for the provincials, but once there, the squad did a ton of damage.
The M's made it to the final before losing 71-63 to the University College of the Cariboo Sun Demons.
After three straight years of missing the playoffs, Malaspina was satisfied with its 10-8 record and the sixth and final seed in the provincials. But the players also knew they were capable of big things, since they were playing some good basketball.
They showed just how good they are over the course of three games at the Capilano College Sportsplex Thursday to Saturday.
The team began with a 71-68 win over the University of Northern British Columbia Timberwolves.
Mariners team captain and B.C. Colleges' Athletic Association leading scorer Jason Hubbs had 21 points in the victory, as did his teammate Graham Giske, who was named the player of the game.
The win put the Mariners in the semifinals against the host Capilano Blues. The M's had defeated the Blues just a week earlier in the last game of the season to qualify for the provincials. This time round, the contest was closer, but the M's desire - and defence - came through again in a 74-70 win.
Jordan Kinakin had a double-double with 23 points and 13 assists and was named player of the game for his efforts.
The final would be the greatest test for the Mariners, as UCC had been heavily favoured to win gold after a season in which the Sun Demons compiled a 17-1 record.
The defence held the powerful Kamloops squad to 71 points, but the offence didn't generate enough in scoring 63 points.
Player of the game Hubbs led the way with 24 points, and Richard Boyland had nine assists.
Hubbs and Kinakin were both named to the tournament all-star team.
For the captain, it is one more honour to add to a long list of accomplishments this season.
Aside from leading the BCCAA in points, Hubbs' 23.4 points per game also smashed Malaspina's season record. Louis Johnson's 19.9 points per game had stood up since the 1992/93 campaign.
Hubbs was also named a Canadian Colleges' Athletic Association All-Canadian, the BCCAA Player of the Year and a BCCAA First Team All-Star.
The Mariners will now have to wait to learn if they will receive one of two wild-card berths into the CCAA national championships. That tournament begins later this month at the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology.