It was a bounce-back weekend for the Quest University Kermodes basketball teams as both the men's and women's sides posted victories over the lowly Columbia Bible College (CBC) Bearcats on Friday (Jan. 28).
The men's team continued its recent strong play in 2011, winning 83-74. The Kermodes have won two of their past three games and head coach Sean Shook was pleased with the effort against the Bearcats.
"Overall I think we played a pretty good game," he said. "But the first half was as ugly a basketball game as I've ever seen."
Shook explained that the team trailed 30-28 at the half but attributed that to cold streaks from sharpshooters Jose Colorado and John Pankratz. Shook said he told the team to continue working hard in the second half.
"They're a shorthanded team and it was only a matter of time before John and Jose started hitting their shots," he said, adding that Quest shot 52 per cent from the field in the second half.
The game was tight until the fourth quarter when the Kermodes busted the game open, hitting four three-point shots in rapid succession during the quarter. Shook also pointed out that the team ground the tired Bearcats down and began breaking down their zone, reaching the free throw line 21 times in the second half.
Colorado topped Quest with 24 points. Bryce Froberg continued his strong play with a double double, scoring 14 points and grabbing 12 rebounds while Pankratz also had a strong game with 20 points.
It was smooth sailing for the women's team, who put together a big lead early and cruised to an impressive 91-50 win over CBC.
"It took us a few minutes to get settled but once we did we defended well and that lead to buckets in transition," said head coach Mike Woollard. "In the second quarter we continued to rotate well, but missed a number of box outs, which led to us being out-rebounded at our own basket which obviously took away from what we like to do offensively. We were still able to build a pretty big lead by half and used the remainder of the game to work on a number of things which should only serve to make us better as the season progresses."
Quest forward Ruth Thanert had a strong game, shooting a perfect 12 of 12 from the field for 25 points and picking up 11 rebounds.
But the win was not without its costs as forward Courtney Harpur ruptured an Achilles' tendon in the second half. She will be out for the remainder of the season. The loss of Harpur will be a tough one for the Kermodes, as she has been a strong presence off the bench all season long.
With the win, the women now have a record of five wins and seven losses, good for seventh place in their division. The men are ranked eighth, with a record of three wins and nine losses.
Next up for the teams will be back-to-back home games against the Kwantlen Eagles on Friday (Feb. 4) and Saturday (Feb. 5).
For more information on the team, visit www.questkermodes.ca.
