Abbotsford — The UFV Cascades men’s basketball team never really came close today in their Canada West Semi-Final matchup, losing a stinker to the Victoria Vikes 77-57. The Cascades simply couldn’t hit a three-point shot in a game where they trailed by as much as 30 and finished with an abysmal .29 free throw percentage. It was one of the worst games of the season for UFV, who managed moments of individual brilliance, but never the cohesion that carried them to a 16 game winning streak through the entirety of the 2014 campaign.
Obviously this was not the semi-final appearance the Cascades wished to have, and it was a cruel irony that in the most important game of the season so far, no player in UFV colours seemed able to shoot the ball. Collectively the Cascades went 1-25 (.040) from beyond the arc, and, as any basketball fan knows, that sort of inefficiency makes a win all but impossible. Jasper Moedt, usually the Cascades’ backbone, went 1-16 from the floor, while Manjodh Dulay was 1-11, including 1-7 from the three. There were some obvious playoff jitters on the court as UFV threw up several air-balls in an attempt to shake their shooting jinx, and it wasn’t until the fifth minute of the fourth quarter that the Cascades finally got a trey from downtown.
In other words, it was a game worth gleaning lessons from and moving on, a game that some of us found difficult to write about without grinding our teeth and blaspheming the basketball gods.
The Cascades were led by Klaus Figueredo with 13 points, Kadeem Willis with 12, and Kevon Parchment with 11. The Vikes looked to Marcus Tibbs (16), Chris McLaughlin (15 points, 10 rebounds), and Terrell Evans (10 points, 10 rebounds). UFV was out-rebounded 55-34, although most of the difference came on the defensive glass.
On the bright side, first-year Cascade Hudson Simon scored his first basket of the season, immediately adding the extra point with an impressive three-point play. Simon red-shirted with the Cascades through last season, and joined the roster this year as a rookie forward. The 6-7 Toronto import finished the night with five points and a block in four minutes, helping the Cascades salvage some pride in the final act of the game.
The Cascades will take on the Saskatchewan Huskies tomorrow in the Canada West bronze medal game at 2 pm PST. Watch the game online at canadawest.tv
UPDATE: The Cascades lost 79-70 to the Saskatchewan Huskies on Saturday. The Huskies were later granted a berth at CIS Nationals next weekend, which will be hosted by Carleton University in Ontario.
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