The Okanagan College Coyotes are coming off a strong weekend showing as the race to the PacWest playoffs heats up.
Both the men and women basketball teams took the court in Victoria over the weekend with two games each against Camosun College where the Yotes’ men went undefeated and the women nabbed a single win against the higher ranked Camosun Chargers.
“These were huge wins for our team and for the program,” said men’s head coach Dino Gini.
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Gini said that in both victories, the Coyotes turned on the pressure in the third quarter with various players leading the way to the wins. In Friday’s first game, Okanagan College was led by Matt Lafontaine’s 25 points and Hunter Hughes’ 13 points and nine rebounds in a 91-88 win.
On Saturday, the Yotes came storming back in the third quarter with a 34-18 point run to win game two 98-83. Lafontaine had 18 points while new OC guard Eric Marbury had 29 points.
“We had so many guys step up, we had a great week of practice that lead us right into two big wins. Very proud of how we responded,” said Gini.
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While the women’s squad only notched one win over the Chargers, the momentum will be beneficial as the Coyotes hope to make a strong playoff push.
Okanagan College fell in the first game to Camosun 80-74, but got revenge in Saturday’s grudge-match with a 65-56 win. Jordan and Kennedy Andres led the way for the Coyotes with 14 and 15 points respectively in the win.
“In the second game, we played solid defensively for four quarters,” said women’s coach Andrew Gini.
“We did a good job taking away the three-point shot.”
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The Coyotes are back in action Feb. 14 for a single game action against Capilano University at the Okanagan College Penticton campus.
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