By Nathan Hutton (The Cascade) – Email
Print Edition: October 22, 2014
The men’s and women’s basketball teams continued their preseason schedules this past weekend, and both had their negatives and positives on display.
The men’s basketball team got the chance to redeem themselves after just barely getting the win over Trinity last weekend. The Cascades played the Spartans on Saturday night and played a lot better, securing the win (80-61) off the heels of Manny Dulay, who registered a game-high 20 points to go along with his eight assists, five boards, and a trio of steals. The large number of assists is credited to coach Adam Friesen for making the decision to reassign Dulay as a point guard for the game instead of his regular billing as a shooting guard. The switch is a common preseason move that most teams make. It’s a way to “test the waters” and see how Dulay handles the workload at the point guard position.
“Manny’s ability to hit shots never surprises us, but he’s worked hard over the summer to expand his game,” said Coach Friesen after the game. The Cascades also received good contributions from Nate Brown, who collected 18 points and seven rebounds, and Kadeem Willis, whose eight boards go along well with his 11 points.
The game came at the heels of a tough 57-56 loss to the Windsor Lancers the previous night. The Cascades carried a point lead into the final 30 seconds, but were unable to secure the ball, allowing the Lancers multiple opportunities to get a last chance tip, which is exactly what happened. The Lancers’ Bradford Parker was able to find the net with just over nine seconds left in the game.
“Sometimes losses can really help you, and the message of rebounding and showing up and being more physical in the paint is hitting home now that we’ve lost a game on a last-second rebound,” remarked Coach Friesen post-game.
The women’s basketball team played their last games of the preseason this weekend but didn’t fare much better than their male counterparts, dropping both games to the Queen’s University Golden Gaels and the UBC Thunderbirds.
The game against the Gaels saw the Cascades holding on throughout the majority of the game, but being unable to contend later on, ultimately dropped the game (75-61).
The game against the Thunderbirds was a lot more hotly contested, but it saw the Cascades give up a lead late and then fail to contain the Thunderbirds in overtime. The Cascades gave up 12 points in the overtime session, and were able to only score six. Although his team did drop a close game, Coach Al Tuchscherer had a lot of positivity after the game, “I thought we dictated the pace of the game for a long time, and defensively I thought we were super solid in making them take tough shots. Even down the stretch, I thought we executed at both ends of the floor.”
The men travel to Ontario next weekend to continue their preseason schedule, and the women don’t play again until their mid-November regular season opener.
With files from Dan Kinvig.
