In what can be described as an outstanding season so far, the Kodiaks men’s basketball team will continue as the team heads to nationals.
The team finished the season leading the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference South Division with a 17-1 record and made it to the final game of its provincials bowing out to the NAIT Ooks.
The Kodiaks were fresh off the heels of an 87-80 win over Lakeland College to secure a chance to play in the provincial final.
The Ooks proved to be too much for the Kodiaks by jumping out to a 47-31 lead at halftime on the way to a 93-66 victory.
While the loss may sting at the moment, the Kodiaks have had a very strong campaign and by the time the regular season ended, were ranked No. 2 among all of the teams in the Canadian Colleges Athletic Association.
They will be one of the teams headed to the CCAA eight-team national basketball tournament in Oshawa, Ont. later this month.
Unfortunately, the same sort of outcome did not occur for the Kodiaks women’s team this year, who finished the year in fourth place in South Division with a 6-12 record.
One year removed from a second place finish at provincials and a seventh place ranking in the CCAA, this year’s team was unable to battle back from an early slump that saw the team start on a five-game losing streak.
In the ACAC championship game this year, Grand Prairie held on for a narrow 63-59 victory over Grant MacEwan to clinch a birth into the national basketball championship tournament in Niagara Falls, Ont.
Both of the national tournaments will be taking place on March 17-19.