Victory so close yet so far

Men’s basketball fails to close out games

By Davie Wong, Sports Reporter

Unfortunately, it seems to be a similar story each week early in the season for the men’s basketball team. They go into the third quarter tied or with the lead, and then they lose. This week was no different for the struggling Royals squad as they looked to pick up wins against Quest and Langara.

The undefeated Quest Kermodes strolled into the Royals court on Friday night, thinking that it would be an easy win. They Royals had other plans and scored 24 points while limiting their opponents to just 15. The second proved no different as the Royals continued dominating. They hit shots from all over the court as the Kermodes all but handed the ball to them. Defensively the Royals looked solid, going into halftime having only allowed 27 points.

The second half looked much different for both sides. The Quest squad tightened up defensively and squeezed the Royals out while the Kermodes went on an offensive tear. As the momentum shifted, so did the level of play. During the second half, it seemed as if the Royals just fell apart as a team. Greedy plays resulted in missed opportunities and allowed Quest to claw their way back.

All in all, the scoresheet really told the tale of the game. During the second half alone, Quest nearly scored 50 points. Meanwhile, the Royals were limited to only 24 points.

The men looked to bounce back the following day when the Langara Falcons came to their court to play. Right off the start, the game was heated, with both teams trading points. It wasn’t until the second quarter that the Royals really got into it. After a few bad passes by the Falcons turned into points for the Royals, the game started rolling Douglas’ way.

The second and third quarter were filled with Royals highlights. Offence and defence blended beautifully for the team as they found a way to make their shots count. In the two quarters, the Royals scored 53 points while limiting the Falcons to 35. Going into the fourth quarter, the Royals held an 11-point lead and looked poised and ready for their first win.

Then everything fell apart in the fourth. The Falcons stormed the Royals, catching them off guard, and blew them away for the comeback win. In that quarter alone, the Falcons outscored the Royals 27-12. With the loss, the Royals fall to 0-5, sitting at the bottom of the standings with Kwantlen.

After the matches, coach Denis Beausoleil expressed his frustrations about the way his team has been playing: “A big issue was our rebounding. We will not win unless we do it.” The team had a lacklustre percentage in defensive rebounding in the first game but improved upon it in the second game.

In regard to his team’s systematic fourth quarter breakdowns, Beausoleil had this to say: “I think it’s mental. We’re individualistically offensive minded and we need to fix that.”