Brent Mutis, CapU Sport Info & Compliance Officer
Despite 20-point outings from guards Josh Dhillon and Ahmad Athman, the Capilano Blues saw their record drop to 1-1 on the season after a 98-95 Saturday night loss to the visiting Langara College Falcons.
MBB | Final score 98-95 as the @LangaraFalcons defeat the Blues preventing a hard-fought come-from-behind win. #GoBlues #CapilanoU #NorthVan pic.twitter.com/dVccdirN6B
— Capilano University Blues (@CapilanoBlues) November 20, 2022
Dhillon was dialled in right from tip off as he dropped 10 points in the first 10 minutes on 4-of-4 shooting including two three-pointers. Royce Sargeant was almost as good for Langara, also hitting twice from beyond the arc in the first quarter while swiping two steals.
The Blues led by five after the opening frame but the Falcons got 20 points off the bench in the second quarter which included 10 from Nic Lafontaine and the visitors took a two-point lead to the second half. It would have been a five-point edge but CapU's Russell Curley hit a dramatic buzzer-beater to conclude the first half, drilling a three off an in-bounds feed from Dhillon.
Athman, who would shoot 10-of-13 on the night, went for eight of his 20 points in the third quarter but the Falcons increased their lead to four going into the fourth quarter. Lafontaine continued to fill it up from his reserve role, hitting two threes in the third.
The teams continued to trade buckets and both sides micromanaged the clock down to the final buzzer with multiple timeouts both ways. With just seconds left on the clock in a one-possession Falcons lead, CJ Campbell was fouled but after missing his first free throw, was forced to try for a hard rebound but the ball ricocheted out of bounds.
Next up for the Blues is a pair of road games starting with a trip to Vancouver Island University for a 7 p.m. tip off on Friday, Nov. 25. The next night, Capilano is at Columbia Bible College for an 8 p.m. start.
