Brent Mutis, CapU sport info & compliance officer
For the first time since 2003, the Capilano Blues are champions of the PACWEST.
The Blues downed the No. 1-seed Vancouver Island University (VIU) Mariners 98-95 Saturday night to claim the program's first provincial crown in 20 years and their third in history.
Fifth-year guard CJ Campbell was named the Tournament MVP after scoring 21 in the final including the decisive three-pointer with 46 seconds remaining.
The Blues trailed much of the game. A Josh Dhillon three-pointer put the Blues up 7-4 1:45 into the game but VIU replied with layups from Akoi Yuot and Richard Henderson to go ahead less than a minute later. They maintained a lead right up until Campbell's clutch make from beyond the arc in the final minute, his only three of the game.
The final buzzer and celebration. pic.twitter.com/8h3sIxLd0l
— Capilano University Blues (@CapilanoBlues) March 5, 2023
VIU would score 37 points in the opening frame with all Mariners starters making multiple buckets. CapU got threes from Dhillon, Ahmad Athman and Russell Curley in the first quarter to keep the Mariners from getting out of reach.
PACWEST Player of the Year Tori Odom scored nine in the second quarter with VIU building their lead to as much as 14. It was Campbell with 10 points and David Featherston with six on 3-of-3 shooting in the second quarter that kept the Mariners from running away completely though VIU led by 11 at halftime.
Tyrone Asenoguan was instrumental in the Blues’s second half comeback, scoring 27 of his 31 points over the final 20 minutes, including five threes. Capilano reduced the VIU lead to six heading to the fourth quarter and in the final frame, Asenoguan racked up 14 while Zach Klim cleaned the glass with seven of his nine boards on the night and earned the Blues several second-chance opportunities with five offensive boards in the fourth quarter.
Klim was at the centre of a dramatic finish to the game as he was fouled with 1.2 seconds to go and went to the line with CapU up 97-95. After missing the first free throw, he attempted to miss the second and get a hard rebound but somehow the ball went straight through the mesh which put CapU up three but allowed VIU a timeout and the chance to inbound the ball in the front court.
VIU drew up a play for Landon Radliff who got a buzzer-beater attempt away which would have forced overtime but it bounced off the rim. It was the first PACWEST loss the Mariners have sustained this season.
Tournament MVP Campbell averaged 19.7 points per game over his three games at the PACWEST provincials and played a team-high 34 minutes in the final, shooting 10-of-18 from the field.
Asenoguan was named to the tournament All-Star Team after averaging 23 points and four assists per game.
Next up for the Blues is a trip to the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT) in Calgary which is hosting the men's CCAA national championship March 16 to 19.
Capilano faces the George Brown College Huskies of Toronto in the quarter-final. Tipoff is 5 p.m. Pacific on Thursday, March 16.
VIU is also going to be there as the PACWEST had two berths granted this season. The Mariners take on the Dawson College Blues of Montreal in their opener.
