Friday night鈥檚 showdown at Quest between the top two men鈥檚 basketball teams in the Pacific West Athletic Association did not disappoint 鈥� except for the final score.
The Kermodes were looking for redemption in the rematch against the Vancouver Island University Mariners, who brought a 9-0 record to town. Quest鈥檚 only loss came at the hands of the Mariners earlier in the season.
From the tip-off, the air in the gym was electric. Quest started the game on an 8-2 run before the Mariners bounced back to lead after the first quarter. In the second quarter, the Kermodes got their offence rolling again, especially from guard Theo VandenEkart鈥檚 outside shot. At the half, Quest walked into the locker room with a 40-37 lead.
The atmosphere got a little testy in the second half, as a couple of altercations led to technical fouls on each side.
The visitors also stepped up their defensive pressure in the third quarter, not allowing any east shots from outside or in the paint, and forced turnover after turnover from Quest.
The Kermodes racked up 27 turnovers on the night while VIU had 21 of their own. Perhaps the most telling stat was VIU鈥檚 10 second-chance points to none for Quest.
If the game wasn鈥檛 pretty from a basketball purist鈥檚 point of view, it made for great entertainment. The only disappoint was that the home side fell short of their comeback in the waning minutes, though the home fans still gave a standing ovation.
VandenEkart led Quest with 23 points, while Dallas Searles and Paul Getz each scored in double figures. Michael Zayas-Duran deserves to be singled out for his scrappy, high-flying performance, with eight points, eight rebounds, four assists and four steals.
The men鈥檚 game followed the women鈥檚, in which Quest lost 49-43 to VIU, tied for first in their bracket. Miriam Baumann led the Kermodes with 15 points and grabbed 14 rebounds, while Jordin Wilkinson scored 12 and led Quest with three assists.
Both teams host Camosun Saturday afternoon.
