Opportunity lost in season opener
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Updated: November 10, 2009 4:26 PM
Poor shooting has cost the Kwantlen Eagles the first two games of their B.C. Colleges Athletic Association men’s basketball season.
The Eagles played host to the UBC-Okanagan Heat last weekend, and fell 78-72 Friday night at 65-63 Saturday.
“We lost two tough ones,” said Eagles head coach Bernie Love. “It was the best basketball we played all year, but we are not hitting our shots, and the free throw line is really hurting us.”
Kwantlen missed 16 free throws in Friday’s contest, a statistic Love said “was the difference in the game. You can’t shoot 50 per cent from the free throw line and expect to win in this league. You’re just throwing away points.”
Seaquam Secondary grad Dustin Egelstad was Kwantlen’s top scorer, netting 23 points. Egelstad added another 20 and pulled down eight rebounds in Saturday’s contest, while Mike Davis of South Surrey added 13 points and seven assists.
But a Heat layup at the buzzer broke a 63-63 tie and gave the Heat a sweep.
“Defensively, I thought we were great and that gave us an opportunity in both games,” said Love. “And we executed very well offensively. But it ultimately comes down to being able to make our open looks.”
The Eagles travel to Victoria for a pair of games with the Camosun Chargers, a team which split its two games last weekend with the Columbia Bible College Bearcats. And while admitting it’s early in the season, Love said the Eagles are in a must-win situation.
“It’s going to be a very competitive league this year,” he said. “I don’t see that there’s one team clearly ahead of the pack, which has been the case in the past three or four years.”
