The Fraser Valley Cascades are on their way to Canada’s big dance.
The Abbotsford-based new kids on the men’s basketball block parlayed an early 15-0 run and a lead as large as 19 points into a 63-62 win over its Pacific Division rivals, the Victoria Vikes, in the opening round of the Canada West Final Four championships Friday in Saskatoon.
The win propelled the Cascades into Saturday’s Canada West championship game against the Alberta Golden Bears, but more importantly, qualified the team for the CIS Final 8 national championships in Halifax later this month.
“Couldn’t be happier with our defensive performance, maybe the best of the year,” said UFV head coach Barnaby Cradock. “Take away our fourth-quarter jitters of playing with a big lead, and it was a gritty performance.”
Added Victoria head coach Craig Beaucamp, whose team could potentially still qualify for the nationals as a wildcard entry but needed to first get past the host Saskatchewan Huskies in Saturday’s third-place game: “We were tight to start and we didn’t make plays early. But I’m proud of how valiantly we fought back.”
The Vikes outscored the Cascades 24-6 over the fourth quarter, nearly coming back from a 46-21 deficit with 6: 21 left in the third quarter.
Victoria senior guard Ryan MacKinnon’s two free throws with 1: 56 remaining closed out the scoring, as the two teams combined to go 0-for-6 from the field the rest of the way.
Kyle Grewal led four Cascades in double figures, the forward finishing with 12 points and seven rebounds. Freshman Jordan Blackman came off the bench to add 11 points in just nine minutes. Joel Friesen and Sam Freeman each added 11.
MacKinnon scored a game-high 15 for Victoria, while Zac Andrus had 12 points and eight rebounds. Alberta earned a berth in the conference final following its 89-73 win over the host Huskies.
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Article source: http://www.theprovince.com/sports/Cascades+victory+over+Vikes+sends+team+national+championships/6248157/story.html