Both the men's and women's Quest University Kermodes basketball teams managed to snatch defeat away from the jaws of victory, losing to the Camosun Chargers in close fashion on Saturday (Jan. 22).
But both head coaches admitted that they made crucial mistakes that led to their respective demises. For the men's side, a backcourt violation from an inbound pass was the turning point and head coach Sean Shook said he picked the wrong player to put the ball in play.
"I'll take the blame for that loss," Shook said. "I should have put a veteran in that spot and I ended up outthinking myself on that one."
Shook gave first year forward Connor Heinrichs the chance to inbound with the Kermodes up 61-60 and 35 seconds left on the clock. Heinrichs passed the ball beyond guard Jose Colorado who was forced to pick up the ball across the centre line, causing the backcourt violation and giving the Chargers the ball back. Quest couldn't recover from the error and dropped the game by a score of 62-61.
"We had opportunities to finish and we just didn't get it done," he said. "It's frustrating to put all of this effort in for this weekend and not come away with two wins. For us to make the playoffs now, we pretty much have to run the table."
Jose Colorado led the way for Quest with 17 points, while Bryce Froberg picked up a double-double, with 13 points and 13 rebounds.
It was a similar story for the women's team on Saturday, as they led for nearly the entire game, only to see it evaporate in the final minutes, losing 71-68.
The Kermodes came out hard and dominated in the first half, building a 40-31 lead but the second half was a different story. Camosun outscored Quest by 12 and took over in the fourth quarter to seal the victory.
"It was a heartbreaker for us because we did exactly what we wanted to," said women's head coach Mike Woollard. "We worked hard and we really took it to them in the first quarter but then our offence became a little stagnant."
The deciding moment came in the games dying moments as the Kermodes had an opportunity to tie the game up with a three point shot but executed a sloppy inbound play, eventually giving the ball up. Woollard had one timeout to use to inbound the ball at half court but miscommunication between him and the scorekeepers led to him thinking Quest had no timeouts left.
"The last play was totally my fault," Woollard said. "I asked the scorekeepers if we had a timeout left and they said we didn't but the scoreboard said otherwise. It turns out we did have a timeout and that's on me for not knowing. It's something I've learned the hard way."
Courtney Harpur led the team with 15 points and Ruth Thanert had a solid game with 13 points, four rebounds, four assists and two blocks.
The weekend wasn't a total lost cause as the men's team did defeat Camosun 79-74 on Friday (Jan. 21).
Froberg, who picked up his second career triple double, led the team with 19 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists. He also picked up three steals and was the most dominant player on the floor.
"I remember the security guard coming up and telling me I got a triple double," he said. "You know you're having a good game when it flies by and it did on Friday."
Froberg said the team looked good on Friday and the trip last month to Phoenix and the tough games against UNBC helped the team gel.
"There were a lot of holes open and our post players were finding ways to get free," he said of Friday's game. "They stepped up and made some big shots for us. After our games against UNBC, I thought that we aren't going to be facing a tougher team defensively than that so I just attacked and it gave me a lot of confidence. The games against UNBC and the trip to Phoenix have really helped us come together as a team."
The women's team struggled on Friday, losing 73-64. Brittany Harteveld led the way with 17 points in a losing cause.
The women's team now has a record of four wins and seven losses and sits in seventh place in their division. The men's team sits at two wins and nine losses, good for eighth place.
Next up for the teams will be an away game against Columbia Bible College on Friday (Jan. 28). The women start at 6 p.m., while the men tip-off at 8 p.m.
For more information on the teams, visit www.questkermodes.ca.
