While a solemn Keenan Danso-Dapaah of the Sheridan Bruins walks off the court of Saturday night, Vancouver Island Mariners players and coaches erupt into celebration after winning the CCAA national title at the LEC. (Photo by Howard Tsumura property of VarsityLetters.ca 2019. All Rights Reserved)
Feature University Men's Basketball

A Sunday Read: The simple truth behind three days of magic! How VIU’s Mariners perfected the art of the rally to win a CCAA national crown

LANGLEY — His tears had barely had time to dry and his voice, emotion-tinged from the kind of elation that only a national championship can bring, had recovered just enough to get a special message out.

Langara's Antonio Jhuty (left) challenges SAIT's John Smith during 7th-8th placing game Saturday at the LEC). (Photo by Howard Tsumura property of VarsityLetters.ca 2019. All Rights Reserved)
Feature University Men's Basketball

CCAA Day 3: National tourney experience a bonus for Langara, Falcons move forward looking to start a new chapter in 2019-20

LANGLEY —It wasn’t the finish Vancouver’s host Langara Falcons were hoping for as they wrapped up play here Saturday afternoon as the 2019 CCAA Nationals hit the final day of its three-day run at the Langley Events Centre: An ejection for Langara head coach Paul Eberhardt after he picked up his second technical of the game with […]

Holland's hulking Martin Campbell goes airborne in the paint as he tries to power his way for a lay-in during CCAA Final Four clash Friday at the LEC against the Sheridan Bruins. (Photo by Howard Tsumura property of VarsityLetters.ca 2019. All Rights Reserved)
Feature University Men's Basketball

CCAA Nationals Day 2: Sheridan’s ‘Braveheart’ Bruins top No. 1 Holland, set the stage for title tilt with Nanaimo’s VIU Mariners

LANGLEY — On Thursday, Sheridan Bruins head coach Jim Flack waxed on about the joy of having his team’s senior leadership become the empowering force that helped carry the OCAA champs to the CCAA’s Final Four here at the Langley Events Centre.

VIU's Tyus Barfoot (right) hugs teammate Landon Radliff after yet another Mariners' rally carried them past Vanier and into Saturday's CCAA championship final at the LEC. (Photo by Howard Tsumura property of VarsityLetters.ca 2019. All Rights Reserved)
Feature University Men's Basketball

CCAA Nationals Day 2: Magnificent Mariners do it again! In Friday’s Final Four, VIU rallies from 19 down to stun Montreal’s Vanier Cheetahs

LANGLEY— Their compass won’t let them down. For a second straight night here at the CCAA men’s national basketball championships, the Vancouver Island Mariners have stared down a double-digit defict and in the end, turned it to dust.

Battling knee issues throughout his career, Langara's fifth-year guard-forward Drake Downer (14) has been an unquestioned leader on a team which includes the likes of (left to right): Tyler Anderson, Tyson Brown and fellow senior Timmie Choi. (Photo by Howard Tsumura property of VarsityLetters.ca 2019. All Rights Reserved)
Feature University Men's Basketball

CCAA Nationals Day 2: Langara’s Drake Downer on his dozen-plus knee injuries and how he found the will to persevere

LANGLEY — Ask Drake Downer about perhaps the most battle-scarred right knee in recent B.C. high school and university basketball history, and he’s more than happy to give an aural history and guided tour.

Humber's Fowzi Mohamoud (left), who hit a pair of third quarter treys, drives the ball past SAIT's Camille Kamba on Friday at the 2019 CCAA championships. (Photo by Howard Tsumura property of VarsityLetters.ca 2019. All Rights Reserved)
Feature University Men's Basketball

CCAA Nationals Day 2: Paint this one Humber! Hawks attack inside, topple SAIT Trojans in quest for bronze

LANGLEY — Toronto’s Humber Hawks may be out of the hunt for gold here at the CCAA men’s basketball championships, yet there was more than enough evidence to suggest Friday that the plane ride back east Sunday morning will be a lot more palatable with a cache of bronze medals.

Langara's Grant Galbraith (top) battled for a rebound with Hollaand's Roosevelt Whyley during opening-round action from the CCAA National men's championships held at the Langley Events Centre. (Photo by Wilson Wong 2019. All Rights Reserved)
Feature University Men's Basketball

CCAA Nationals Day 1: Langara coach Eberhardt on loss to No. 1-seed Holland: “We just got hit by a Hurricane”

LANGLEY — Paul Eberhardt didn’t rehearse the line, so when it came time to dissecting what went wrong for his Langara Falcons in the opening round of the CCAA National championships Thursday night, the head coach caught himself chucking just a split second before delivering an unintended pun. “We just got hit by a hurricane,” he […]

Montmorency's Elie Karojo (left) and Sheridan's Nick Campbell battle for a loose ball in Thursday's Elite 8 clash here at the CCAA nationals in Langley. (Photo by Wilson Wong 2019. All Rights Reserved)
Feature University Men's Basketball

CCAA Nationals Day 1: It’s all about empowerment! Senior leadership carries Sheridan’s Bruins into Friday’s Final Four

LANGLEY — They swept through the OCAA playoffs back in Ontario, winning by an average margin of 20 points.They opened Thursday in the first round of the CCAA national championships at the Langley Events Centre with a 22-points win, 105-83 victory, over Laval’s Nomades de Montmorency. (full updated Friday schedule below)Now, riding a six-game win streak, […]