SPARTANS RETURN TO CANADA WEST ACTION-Provincial rival Victoria makes way to Langley

Basketball (Canada West)
Wednesday, January 02, 2008
Weekend Preview

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SPARTANS RETURN TO CANADA WEST ACTION
--Provincial rival Victoria makes way to Langley

LANGLEY, British Columbia-The Trinity Western University Spartans open up their 2008 Canada West basketball schedule against the University of Victoria Vikes this Friday at the David E. Enarson Gymnasium. Both the men and women are in action, looking to gain valuable points in the Pacific division standings as the season heads towards the playoffs.

The Victoria women (6-6) entered the Christmas break with back-to-back losses to UBC, but notched exhibition victories over Carleton and Laurentian before the New Year. The Vikes feature Canada West leading scorer Ryan McKay (5th year, Fredericton, N.B.), who averages a stellar 21 points and 4.4 rebounds per game. McKay is flanked by forward Kayla Dykstra (3rd year, Calgary), who contributes 11.4 points and a team-high 7.5 rebounds per game. The Vikes currently sit fourth in the Pacific division, a mere two points behind the Spartans, making this weekend's double-header a pivotal one.

The Spartan women (7-5) picked up a win against Victoria earlier this season, thanks to a Katie Haworth buzzer-beater that lifted TWU to a 60-58 win in Victoria. In their final six games before the break the Spartan ladies rattled off four straight wins before dropping a pair of games against UCFV. Versatile guard Laura Craig (3rd year, South Delta, B.C.) leads an unselfish offense with nine points, 4.4 rebounds and 3.1 assists per contest. Post Corina Reimer (2nd year, Abbotsford, B.C.) is second in Canada West rebounding with 8.2 boards per game and third in team scoring with 7.2 points per contest. As usual the Spartans will use a total team effort in an attempt to get two wins against the Vikes; two wins that would help them solidify their spot in third place in the Pacific division.

The Vikes men's squad (9-3) entered the Christmas break with a split against provincial rival UBC and now they'll open 2008 with a pair of games against another B.C. rival, the Spartans. 6'7" forward Mitch Gudgeon (4th year, Victoria) leads the Vikes with 14.2 points, to which he adds 5.2 rebounds per game. Forward Tyler Hass (4th year, Victoria) averages 11.7 points and 5.1 rebounds per game, while forward Rob Kinnear (5th year, Saanichton, B.C.) is the teams top rebounder with 6.6 boards per game. The Vikes were the CIS silver medalists last season and currently sit two points behind UBC for top spot in the Pacific division.

The Trinity Western Spartans men (4-8) went 3-2 in their final five games before the break and will be looking to start 2008 off on the right foot against the visiting Vikes. Athletic guard Lucas Goltz (3rd year, Comox, B.C.) is second in team scoring with 14.5 points per game, to which he adds 4.4 rebounds. Freshman guard Jon Loewen (1st year, Abbotsford, B.C.) continues to pace the Spartans backcourt with 11.5 points, a team-high 2.9 assists per game, all while playing a team-high 28.6 minutes per game. Down low the Spartans will turn to hard-working forward Joe Vroom (3rd year, Abbotsford) who chips in 10.3 points and a team-best 6.8 rebounds per game.

Game times are at 6 p.m. for the women and 8 p.m. for the men. Both games can be heard live on Spartan Web Radio. Tune in ten minutes before each tip-off to catch the pre-game show.

-TW-

Last Updated: 2008-01-15
Author: Scott Stewart
Email: aestewart@wei.org