2006-2007

Sturgeon Snaggs Another Top Award

 Lenahan's Basketball Diary: Destination Truro.
Day 1
On Saturday morning at 11:30, our Douglas College Men's basketball team boarded WestJet flight 682 from Vancouver International Airport bound for Halifax and the final leg of our season. Arriving at 10:30 pm local time, we then piled into our vans headed for our final destination: Truro, Nova Scotia for the 2007 CCAA National Championships.

We finally got into our hotel around midnight, then decided to surprised an empty Tim Hortons and its two lovely female employees, who were slightly taken aback when 19 hungry basketball players and coaches were looking for their dinner. After our classic East Coast dinner (it seems there is a Tim Hortons on every block) it was back to the hotel, where we were briefed on our schedule for the following, and finally to try and overcome the anticipation of the upcoming tournament and get some much needed sleep.

We started practicing together in July, and finally 8 months later we have arrived at our ultimate destination, what we have been talking, thinking, and dreaming of everyday since the beginning of the season, the CCAA National Championship tournament.
 
Starbucks? This is Tim Horton's country.»

Tomorrow we have a shoot-around at the school in the morning, and in the evening, the banquet to open the competition, and then back to our rooms to focus and prepare for our first game on Monday.

Lenahan's Basketball Diary: Shimmer Me Purple
Day 2
After finally getting to sleep around 3:30 am, it was a quick turnaround this morning as we had to get to the school for our one-hour practice at 11. Now remember, with the four hour time change, plus the beginning of daylights savings the night before, 11 am local time feels like 6 am to us, but that wouldn't allow us to make excuses. This was the only opportunity to get on the floor before our first game, to get a feel for the lights, hoops, and hardwood. We started with some layups, and you could tell we were a group of players that had traveled across the country the day before, but we quickly got going as bear (Justin Adams) and gramo (Graeme McCallum) were vocal and energetic, waking the rest of us up. After an hour of getting back to basketball, it was back to the hardest part of this kind of event, waiting. When we got into our new hotel, we had 3 hours to kill before we would head out for the opening banquet, which meant one thing, sleep. After a very refreshing nap, we headed out for the school once more, but this time dressed up in collared shirts and groovy ties, epitomized by Clayton?s shimmering purple combination.

The dinner was the official opening of the week, with speakers from the ACAA, the CCAA, and Basketball Canada. Our team was only waiting for one thing that night (other than our catered dinner); would All-Canadian Andrew Sturgeon win 'CCAA Player of the Year' He was up against the other four Player of the Year winners from each conference. In the end, Andrew was edged out by Fanshawe Falcons Forward and Captain, Pat Sewell. After the banquet, we went back to our hotel to finish off the last day before 'The Beginning'.

All-Canadian, Andrew Sturgeon amongst his peers.»

Some guys stayed in their rooms, watching tv or movies, janders (James Anderson) and shaner (Shane Heuring) split the pot in the nightly Texas Hold?em game, and the coaches headed out to the coaches meeting. At long last we were at the final sleep before Nationals, and you could feel the excitement throughout the team, our final battle would begin tomorrow. 

 Lenahan's Basketball Diary: A Hard "McNutt" to Crack.
Day 3

Our first game was not supposed to be like this, but it might have been due to the whole day.

Our shoot around Monday morning was made optional because a lot of the guys were still feeling the effects of the change in time zones, and since we were scheduled to leave at 9:30, if guys wanted to stay and sleep, they were allowed. This might have been the first problem, as the team was split up, and it didn't seem like our bodies ever really got in synch. After that it was a team meeting, then off for lunch, back to Frank n' Gino's. Even there things seemed disjointed as some guys wanted to eat there, others didn't, you could get the feeling that maybe we weren't ready for tonight.

Then we got to the gym, and being the third game of the day, there was an hour break before our game to clear out the stands. This gave us an extra half hour to warm up, some consider that a bonus, but it was another thing that took us away from our routine. Finally, we were informed that there was no dunking allowed during our warm up. Again for most teams, this would not be that big of an issue, but for a team that has 11 guys that can throw down, it really takes away from energy that can be gained from the pre-game. All of these things combined, and you could tell there might be a problem brewing.

But really, our team has come into games under more difficult circumstances, and has always come through, so why would today be any different, especially against what we were told was a much weaker NSAC team, a team that was only there because they were the host school. Unfortunately we knew they were supposed to be a weaker team, and we were supposed to roll over them, and we came out flatter than the prairies we had just flown over. The first quarter was awful with our first basket not coming until 2:31 into the game, and if it wasn't for a perfectly executed play at the end of the quarter that led to a Gramo 3-ball to tie the game at 14, it may have been our worst opening quarter this year.

The second quarter was ours as it has been all year, with us finally getting a lead and building on it, led by a 17-0 run that lasted 5 minutes 37 seconds to give us a 31-19 lead going into the half. The only thing that scared us that quarter was the play of NSAC's best player, Billy McNutt, who had 3 of his game high 8 blocks. We knew that they relied on him heavily on both ends of the court, and we could not really stop him, but no one else on there team was doing anything so it wasn't a big problem?..yet.

Going into the change room there was a feeling like we were losing. Heads were down, and morale was low. We were shooting poorly, had 20 turnovers, and were only up 12 on a team most expected us to beat by 40, but hey, we were still winning.

The first half of the third kept the score close to the same as at the half, the last 5 minutes, though, saw a 13-5 run from NSAC cut our lead to 4. The biggest problem was not the score, but our energy, or lack thereof. We have had games where we come out slow, and allow teams to keep up with us, but never have we been so lethargic for such an extended period of time.

« NSAC fans packed the house.
Photos: Dave Munro

Fortunately, we have never felt we would lose a game, and this was no different. But with BCCAA tournament MVP Chris having an off-game, and BCCAA Player of the Year Sturg in foul trouble for most of the game, we needed other players to step up. Gramo ended up with 17 points, easily being our leading scorer, but it was his rebounding and defense of McNutt that got him Player of the Game. But with the packed crowd cheering completely against us, you knew others players would finally stop helping out their best player, and that?s what Ryan swim did, scoring all 11 of his points in the second half, and it was his lay up that gave them a 44-42 lead with 8:45 left. We traded baskets for the next 3 minutes, and the gym was electric with the idea that the unranked and unheard of Rams may beat the countries number one seed Royals. But in the next time out called, Shane came in and yelled "THERE IS NO WAY WE ARE LOSING THIS GAME,"
 
Shane's UCFV cascades had lost the year before in the first round in a similar situation, and he wasn't going to let it happen again. From that point on, even though the shots weren't falling, the defense stepped up, the bench was loud and rowdy, and we knew we would win, but how would it end. The dagger came after Ryan Swim hit his final basket of the night for NSAC, a 3 to get them within 3 with 45 seconds left. We came down, wanting to kill as much clock as possible, and finally Clay took a shot from the corner and missed, but Veale made up for everything else that game by grabbing the board with 20 seconds left, meaning we could hold the ball til fouled or else the game was over. Chris quickly pulled the ball out and we started passing around, not allowing them to foul and also dragging all there players up and away from the hoop. Chris saw this and when he got the ball back, found Sturg on the far block, lobbed it up, Sturg grabbed it, two-hand dribble, up, and exclamation two-handed, cock-back cram on McNutt. We go up 5, 7 seconds left, and we knew that was it. After a timeout and subsequent missed three, we walked into the changeroom relieved that it was over.

While we knew we weren't going to lose, it was definitely good to get out of that gym. When I first saw the draw, I was happy to see our first round matchup, because if we did come out flat, we would still have a chance to win. Now that the first game is done and we have our legs going and heads focused, we are all now itching for our semi-final versus the same team that knocked out the top seeded UCFV Cascades last year, the MSVU Mystics.

Once we got back, we all just chilled out. Too much stress during the day, combined with easily the biggest game of our year the next day, caused most of us to hit the sheets early, to focus on winning tomorrow night, and getting to the finals.

Lenahan's Basketball Diary:A Bic Shaver + A 'Mystic'al Mohawk.
Day 4

Yesterday I passed out at 11 o'clock, finally having my body exhausted enough to sleep at a civil hour, I accepted the shut eye and went to bed. It's now 1:40am and I still can't calm down after our win today. WE PLAY IN THE NATIONAL FINALS TOMORROW.

My whole life (like every athlete) I have dreamed of playing in the Championships at the highest level I could, and that dream will come true tomorrow.

Today was no different than yesterday. Get up, grab a quick bite, and head to the gym for a shoot around, back to the hotel for lunch, video on our opponents, pre-game meal and...game time. This is the same routine we have followed for every road game this year, and we weren't about to change anything now.

The only little fun we had today was a psychological schemed for our opponent Mount Saint Vincent University (MSVU). After it was decided that 'Janders' (James Anderson), would be defending MSVU's All-Canadian, Damian Gay. We scheme up a plan. Gay was a 6'6" banger that could stroke the 15 footer. Janders was handed the task of defending the All-Canadian, as he was our hardest working post defender. You see, if we could stop Damian from getting the ball, and more importantly, keep him from getting offensive rebounds we would have a better chance at winning. In the other semi-final game, MSVU had 20 offensive boards' largely due to Gay's performance.

So our psychological scheme was...mock his haircut. You see, Mr.Gay had a sweet Mohawk hairdo, and not the wimpy ones where it's buzzed down with a trimmer. This 'hawk was Bic'd! Right down to the skin. So we matched up Mr. Anderson with him, 'Bic for Bic' and the result was awwwwwwwwwesome!

Mano et Mano...Bic to Bic. Janders rocks the 'Hawk. »

The haircut was meant to be a lighthearted mock the Mystics star, but when Janders stepped up beside him, Mr. Gay offered what appeared to be a sincere "Nice haircut,"but that would be as friendly as they would get all night. From the opening tip, the two of them were locked up, banging all over the paint all night. James ignited what would be a stellar performance from our defensive end, which caused at least five passes to sail out of bounds and out of reach of their intended targets.

The first quarter was very back and forth, and the crowd stayed electric every time MSVU scored. We were again severely outnumbered in the stands, with a few parents making the trip, and some UBC-O players supporting their BC brothers versus the rest of the stands. After a close quarter, a "JBJ" (Jevon Boyde-Joseph) free throw with no time remaining brought us to within one, closed the first quarter with a score of 17-16.

As usual, the second quarter was ours, and again, it was led by our stifling defense. The fans were continually razzing us every time we made even the slightest mistakes, chanting any name they could. It was the kind of atmosphere any team would die to have. The kind of crowd the opposition loves and hates to play against. It's a 'Love-Hate' kinda thing i.e Boston Gardens back in the day. The atmosphere helps to keep the energy up, but it means you also can't hear anything on the floor.

We channeled more of the positive than the negative, outscoring MSVU 15-8. We were led by Bear's (Justin Adams) two three pointers, the last one with a minute left, coupled with Clay's steal and lay-up, gave us a 31-25 halftime lead.

We ran off the floor and into the change room fired up, we were 20 minutes away from beating the undefeated Mystics, and getting to the finals. And it wasn?t just a 6 point lead, we were controlling the game, we had the tempo right where we wanted, and we were not being out rebounded.

In the third quarter, we kept going back and forth. We went up 10 early after a Graemo [Graeme McCullum] three ball and a Janders [James Anderson] bank hook shot. We thought we had it when Graemo pulled up on the break, but he rimmed out a shot that is normally automatic. And then they started to chip back and getting it to within three. But that's when ice-cold, 'Tan' (Aneetan Braich) checked into the game with 13 seconds left and canned a three that restored our six point at the end of the third.

The Last Ten Minutes.
The energy was burning through the entire team. We huddled at every stoppage on the floor. Players were linking arms together during timeouts to keep everything tight. We have never been this close, we knew we weren't going to lose, and we knew it was because we have fourteen guys working together, no one was... or is as deep as us, and no one works together the way we do.

We were up 6, and our defense was strong, but no team is going to roll over and give up their spot in the National Championships. The fourth quarter started, and the crowd was loud. MSVU fed off that energy. We missed a few shots we should have hit, and had a few untimely turnovers, and the crowd loved it.

I personally have never been in a gym so loud, and it was unbelievable. However, MSVU slowly worked themselves back into the game. An offensive rebound on a free throw... a foul... hitting one of two free throws and Voila! They had knotted up the game at 50-50 with 5:04 left. The best thing about having a team with as much experience that we have is that no one ever panics.

Even after Graemo, Shaner [Shane Heuring] and Sturg [Andrew Sturgeon] fouled out., that's three of our starters, no one worried, we were going to win, we just needed other guys to step in, but we all know the system, and we all trust each other. After they had tied it up, the composure kicked in and we quickly went back up five points; but again over the next three minutes, they kept right with us and actually got it back to down one with a minute left.

Bear then came down calling our iso play, found Veale curling out to the wing and...splash! Our four point lead was restored. A timeout was quickly called by MSVU and we thought that would be it, that was a difficult shot and it would mean they would have to score twice to get back to either take the lead or tie it up. But as I said...they weren't going to hand it to us. After the timeout, they came down and got to the hoop to get to within two. We went down with just under 30 seconds left, and knew they would want to foul us if we killed too much time. So we executed our press break perfectly, and they were left with no choice but to foul our best free throw shooter with 14 seconds left.

Clayton Heuring stepped up to the line and nailed two free throws to lock the game and send us to the National Championship game tomorrow night.

Lenahan's Basketball Diary:  A Tough End and a 'Royal' Beginning.

Day 5
It wasn't supposed to end like this, I was supposed to be excited to write this last entry on the flight home last Thursday, not regretfully typing away four days later. Our season ended 10 points short of where we wanted it, falling 94-84 to Dawson College of Montreal. I barely remember the game, other than their athleticism. They took away all the things we had taken for granted, and had done so easily, against all other CCAA teams this year.

The lanes were closed before we could get to the hoop, passes were deflected or stolen, rebounds were snatched out of our hands, we were shell shocked. In the end, the better team won that day, but we know if we could have another shot, the outcome would be different. Unfortunately, that is not how these things go, they had our number that day, and they deserved to win.

For all of us, second place is a first place loser. Receiving that silver medal was bittersweet. Second in the country of 104 schools is actually amazing, but it is not what we wanted, not what we had been working for all year. Some people just don't understand that mentality, but you can't understand unless you have actually lost a game of that magnitude. To have everything we have worked for to be taken away from us. The hardest part is when you question yourself. Collectively, what could we have done to make up that 10 point difference? But it's too late now, nothing can change the outcome.

So what now? For all the guys returning it leaves a mark, an impression. Once you lose a National Championship, you never want to lose another. So they will return next season fired up from the start to win the banner, the ring, the championship that eluded us this year. I envy those players. You can not have the kind of passion for winning without going through what we have. I know it will inspire them next year.

For those of us not returning, the end is difficult to accept. As said, second place is incredible, better than most of us will ever do in a competitive sport, but we knew how close we were, and we will never have another shot at that game.

Personally, while extremely disappointed that we could not pull it out, I am excited at all the opportunities that lie ahead of me. The life of the student-athlete is a hard road traveled. For four years, I have dedicated my life to Douglas College basketball, and I am unbelievably grateful for the opportunity, but it is time to move on. It is difficult to believe I will never compete at this level again, but I will not forget it.

I am so proud to be a part of this team. I have been playing sports since I was four years old. I have played on various teams throughout high school and yet I have never felt closer to a group of guys. It is this that makes my final year that more special and memorable. The 13 other players and 6 coaches will always be in my heart, and be remembered as the best team I have ever been a part of. It has made me emotional thinking the sun has set on my college basketball career. The good thing about a sunset, is that you know it will rise the next day, bringing with it countless possibilities that I look forward to exploring.

Thank you Douglas, all the coaches, players, and employees that have helped me and my team out over the years, this place will never be forgotten, I will always feel at home being a Royal.

A Long Time Coming

March 3, 2007

Abbotsford, BC -  It has been a long time coming for Douglas College's men's basketball program as they returned to the pinnacle of B.C. college basketball. In sensational style, the number one ranked team in the country defeated the Okanagan Lakers 73-70 in the gold medal game, bringing a sigh of relief to the Royals faithful.

"I had to remind myself to breathe," said Athletic Director, Lou Rene Legge who watched the nerve-racking game and it's final second shot.

"The exciting thing about sport is anything can happen. I'm elated for Jamie Oei and the men's basketball program; It's been a long time since there has been such excitement about [Douglas] basketball."

Saturday night's victory is Douglas' first BCCAA basketball provincial title since 1994 when the program was a dynasty of sorts, winning Provincial titles in 91, 93 and 94.

The road back to the glory days was not an easy one traveled for the Royals. Despite a first round bye into the semi-finals, they faced the host institution and hometown favorites, the Columbia Bible College (CBC) Bearcats.

In front of a rowdy crowd that were still excited from CBC's victory on Thursday night over Camosun; the Royals knew they would have to push pass the Bearcats' home court atmosphere. On the court, Douglas treated the Bearcats as a formidable opponent after they had challenged the Royals in their two earlier meetings this year.

From the opening tip, the Royals defused the crowd's enthusiasm and crushed the spirits of the CBC hopefuls as they jumped out to a 29-11 lead by the end of the first quarter. In the second quarter, the Royals traded baskets and had an answer for every big three pointer that CBC launched.

The most apparent challenge for the Bearcats was defending BC Player of the Year (POY), Andrew 'Monster' Sturgeon. The 'Monster' created an inside presence that was felt throughout the entire venue. You could hear the murmurs of excitement every time he touched the ball. Living up to his P.O.Y. billing, Sturgeon showcased a solid well-rounded game by hitting mid range jumpers, punishing defenders in the post, man handling rebounds (11) and sending the crowd into a frenzy with  'Sports Center' like slams.

    "Now that's just sick," said one CBC fan after Sturgeon connected with teammate, Justin Adams for an above the rim alley-oop slam over a CBC defender. 
    "You have to respect that [dunk] whether you're a CBC fan or not,"

Despite a slow third quarter performance, which saw the Royals' lead dwindle down to single digit figures, they managed to withstand the barrage of three point attempts (34) by the Bearcats and held on to an 84-70 victory.

The Royals were led by Player of the Game, Chris Veale who was just sensational and consistent through the entire game. Behind 9 of 12 shooting, Veale's guard play was relaxed and poised as he created opportunities for the Royals time and time again.

    "This was a classic Veale performance," said Douglas College alumnus, Adrian Lenahan who came out to watch his younger brother, Geoff 'Rudy' Lenahan.

    "This is Veale at his best. He is creating havoc for the opponents, grabbing rebounds and hitting daggers when the team needs them,"

Veale would finish with a game high in points and rebounds, 25 and 12 respectively. Graeme McCallum finished with 19 points and provided the Royals with a sniper-like shooting from the perimeter.

In Saturday's championship game, the Okanagan Lakers crowd was still buzzing from the earlier gold medal performance from their women's team who defeated the Langara Falcons. The Royals knew they would have their hands full with a disciplined Lakers team that pushed them earlier this year.

Despite the energy and the buzz in the crowd, the game began slow as it was apparent for both teams that they were playing with 'big game' jitters. The offense for the Royals didn't come as easy as the night before as they had difficulties connecting with outside shots as the Lakers sat back in their 2-3 zone in an attempt to cage the 'Monster' [Andrew Sturgeon] that roamed inside.

While Okanagan was focusing on the inside, Graeme McCallum took full advantage of the open looks from behind the arc as he connected for five three pointers on the night and even gestured a 'shhh' to the crowd after ending a Lakers run by hitting a heavily contested three point shot.

"In my heart Graeme was an All-Star" said Head Coach, Jamie Oei.
"Every time they made a run, he [Graeme] would hit big shots to keep us in the game."

In the second quarter, the Royals were led by Jevon Boyde-Joseph and Donald Lindo, who both provided a spark of the bench with hustle and complimentary offense to help the Royals blow open the game with a 30-15 second quarter performance. The Royals cruised into the half with a comfortable 40-25 lead.

However, in the third quarter, the Lakers came charging back behind guard, Marco Dolcetti (19 pts) and forward, Wendall Thomas (13 pts and 11 reb.). Thomas' follow up dunk on a missed shot, sparked a 23-11 run by the Lakers as they managed to cut the Royals' lead to three and a 51-48 score at the cessation of the third.

In the fourth, the atmosphere was of pure 'March Madness' essence as the teams battled back and forth delighting the crowd and causing fans to erupt with cheers, banging pots and beating drums. Each team found a will and a way to answer the call by hitting clutch free throws and timely baskets. With the game tied at 70-70 and only 19.6 second remaining; the capacity crowd was standing on their feet in anticipation of the outcome. Despite their one number seed in the tournament, one number ranking in the country and their 19 game winning streak the Royals season came down to this possession.

Following the time-out, the ball was handled by guard, Justin Adams, who allowed the clock to trickle down despite constant pressure from the Laker defender. With 3.7 seconds remaining, Adams found an open Chris Veale who nailed the shot from behind the arc to give the Royals a 73-70 lead and ultimately the win. With no time-outs remaining, the Lakers were forced to throw up a half court hail Mary that was short of its intended target.

"We didn't do anything special at the end of the game. These are guys that know what play we are running and they executed it to perfection" said Oei.

"We played all twelve players in the finals...which I think is a testament to our team's depth. Everyone contributed something. Hatch [Ryan] had a couple of key defensive plays and Shane [Heuring] made some big baskets down the stretch,"

The Royals were led by Graeme McCallum?s 23 points and tournament MVP, Chris Veale who finished with 14 points, 5 assist and 6 rebounds.

The Royals will begin preparing for their run at a first National Championship title in Douglas College history as they travel to the CCAA National Basketball Championships hosted by Nova Scotia Agricultural College in Truro, Nova Scotia, March 14-17, 2007.




Number One Royals Still Unstoppable.

February 11, 2007

Vancouver, BC - For the seventh consecutive week, the Douglas Men's Basketball team hold down the number one ranking in the country. The Royals team was able to keep the top ranking after a two game sweep of the Langara College Falcons this past weekend despite missing starting forward, Graeme McCallum.

In first game, the Royals came out flat and were unable to get their offence going in the first quarter as they trailed 13-10. The second quarter saw much of the same as Douglas shot a dismal 39% from the field through the first five minutes but were able to put together a late 8-0 run to led 31-25 at the break. The second half was a different story. Three minutes into the second half, Royals guard, Jevon Boyde-Joseph and Langara guard, Kyle Watson got into a scrum leading to the ejection of Watson. The Royals used the momentum from the loss of Langara?s leading scorer and cruised to an 83-63 victory.

« Royals' Guard, Donald Lindo
Archived Photo: Jerald Waliser - Southpaw Photography

Clayton Heuring led the Royals with 21 points and 8 rebounds. Chris Veale had 15 points for the Royals while Jevon Boyde-Joseph and Andrew Sturgeon added 13. Donald Lindo had a season high in minutes and contributed 7 points, 4 assists and 5 steals.

Kenny Ryan led the falcons with 17 points and 13 rebounds.

In Saturday's game, the Falcons came out hungry. Without the suspended Kyle Watson, the Falcons got contributions from all 8 players and were able to hang tough as they had the Royals trailing 46-36 at the break. However the more experienced and deeper Royals' squad were able to play all 12 players at least five minutes and hold on to a 95-82 victory.

The Royals were led by 22 points from Chris Veale. Andrew Sturgeon had 20 points and Shane Heuring added 17. However, the best performer for the Royals was ex-Langara star Justin Adams who had 15 points, 8 rebounds, and 6 assists.

The Falcons had six players in double figures in scoring led by rookie Tony Otim with 15.

    "I thought we had trouble getting motivated for the second game," said Douglas Head Coach, Jamie Oei,     
    "Without (Kyle) Watson and (Paul) Naka we did not respect them and that is a dangerous way to play. It is good to have contributions from the entire team and we look forward to finishing off the regular season at home next weekend."

The Royals will take on Kwantlen University College (0-14) this Friday and Saturday night at Douglas College. The women's game begin at 6 p.m. and the men's play at 8 p.m.

Royals Decharged Camosun.
Camosun Chargers push Royals to spectacular ending.

February 6, 2007

New Westminster, BC - After a bye week, the Douglas College Royals men's basketball team was back at home to face to the third place Camosun Chargers. In Friday's night game, the Royals relied on a balance attack as five players were in double digit scoring. After holding a slim five point lead in the first ten minutes of play, the Royals continued a steady pace as they were up on the Chargers 44-32 by the half.

In the third and fourth quarters, the Chargers made a push behind Brandon Dunlop's 31 points as they out scored the Royals in both quarters. Despite Camosun's valiant effort, the Royals manage to pull out an 87-82 victory as they shot 43% from the field and a blistering 45% from three point land.

Leading scorers for the Royals were Chris Veale with 26 points; Shane Heuring had 14 and went a perfect 8 for 8 from the free throw line. Graeme McCallum and Justin Adams chipped in 13 and 12 points respectively as Clayton Heuring added 10 points.

In Saturday's matinee match, Camosun came charging out of the gate as the lead after the first quarter by a score 25-17. By the end of the second quarter, the Royals found themselves behind by 11 points heading into the recess. Led behind the hot shooting of Evan Janzen who dropped six threes from behind the arc, it appeared the Chargers had the top team in the nation on their heels.

Remaining clam and composed, the Royals returned from the half time break with a renewed passion and intensity that shifted the momentum back in their favor. Led behind the game's high scorer, Andrew Sturgeon who had 27 points; the Royals outscored Camosun 28 -15 in the third quarter to regain the lead 63-61.

In the fourth quarter, the Royals couldn't put the Chargers away as both teams seesawed back and forth with timely runs to keep the crowd on their toes. Trailing with less than 10 seconds, Camosun nailed a shot from the baseline to lock up the score at 84 -84. With only 6.4 seconds remaining on the clock, the Royals emerged from the the time out and inbounded the ball to Chris Veale who drove baseline causing the Camosun defense to collaspe leaving Andrew Strugeon wide open for the pass and the sweet jumper to ice the game, 86-84. With plenty of opportunities for a possible upset, the Chargers couldn't capitalize at the line as they shot a dismal 11 for 33 (33%) including missing nine free throws down the stretch. As for the Royals, they took care of business at the line as they made 26 of 33 (78%) including making key shots in the final minute of the game.

With only two weeks remaining in the regular season, the Royals will be staying close to home as they play Langara this weekend in Vancouver and then host Kwantlen next weekend at home. Check the team schedule for game times.

Royals Top Lakers
In the men's game, the number one team in the country has only lost one game in the past two months and was riding an eight game winning streak going into this past weekend's game.
In the first quarter, the Royals opened the game by dominating the Lakers inside and outside, as they led by a score of 31-15 after ten minutes. Not much changed in the second, as the Royals continued their sharp shooting as they shot 65% from the floor 57% from behind the arc and nailed 80% of their free throws.
Despite a 22-10 third quarter run by the Lakers, which saw the Royals' lead evaporate to one point; 56-55. The Royals responded with a 22-3 run of their own to create some breathing room as they coasted to a 91-74 victory.

« Justin 'Bear' Adams was all smiles.
Photo: Jerald Walliser, Southpaw Photography
 
The damage was performed by a balanced attack as the Royals had four players in double digit figures.  The leading scorer for the Royals was senior guard, Chris Veale who netted 18 points, dropped 5 dimes and collected eight boards.
Shane Heuring and Andrew Sturgeon dominated the paint, as the two combined for 30 points and 18 rebounds. Justin 'Bear' Adams had 15 points and the basketball savvy Clayton Heuring did his best Oliver Twist impression as he pick pocketed the Lakers with 6 steals.

Both teams have a bye this weekend in league play; however the men will be heading south of the border again to take on Northwest Indian College on Saturday, January 27 in Bellingham, WA. The game time is 6:00p.


Graeme McCallum Named BCCAA Athlete of the Week.

Graeme is in his 2nd year in the BCCAA. After spending his 2005-06 season at Capilano, Graeme made the switch to the Royals for this current season. Over the Christmas holidays, Graeme was named MVP at the Kwantlen Invitational.
His 1st game back after sitting out the 1st semester, Graeme and his Royals made the grueling trip to Prince George for a pair of road games. On Friday night, Graeme scored a remarkable 41 points including 4 for 4 from 3-point range. He also added 9 rebounds and 3 assists. On Saturday night, he helped a balanced Douglas attack which saw the Royals win 102-59. He contributed 13 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists. Graeme was also given the task of guarding UNBC all-star guard Jay Gladish and was able to hold him to 14 and 13 points respectively, well under his 22.5 ppg average.
Next up for the Royals is a home game vs Okanagan on January 20th.


Royals Win Kwantlen Winter Basketball Tournament

January 8, 2006

Surrey - The Douglas College Royals Men's Basketball team claimed their second tournament title of the holiday break. After winning the Bearcat Holiday Classic in December, the Royals took to the floor in the 6 team Kwantlen Winter Basketball Tournament this past week. The Royals were able to sweep the tournament and take home a tournament title for the second time in as many weeks.

« Clayton Heuring drives against Capilano defender
Photo: Jerald Waliser, South Paw Photography

The first game pitted the Royals against a Langara team that had lost to the Royals just 5 days before. This time the Royals were better prepared for the Falcons. Led by 23 points from Andrew Sturgeon and 22 from Chris Veale, the Royals led by as much as 26 points in the second half. Capping off a great night from the Royals was a huge put back dunk from rookie Ryan Hatch who started for the injured Shane Heuring. The Royals finished the game with an 89-71 victory.

Game 2 saw the Royals take on an up and coming Camosun team. The Royals got off to a good start behind Chris Veale and Andrew Sturgeon who combined to score the Royals first 14 points. The Royals led at half time 41-22. The Royals used a balanced scoring attack in the second half and cruised to a 77-61 victory. Clayton Heuring led the Royals with 22 points while Veale chipped in with 13 and Geoff Lenahan added 10.

The tournament final pitted the Royals against the only B.C. team to beat them this season, The Capilano Blues. The Royals were without their starting posts, Andrew Sturgeon and Shane Heuring, but roared out to a quick start behind the hot shooting of former Blue Graeame McCallum. The Royals got a Geoff Lenahan layup to close the half up 47-29.
The second half was a different story. The Blues came back behind the hot shooting of second year guard Nick Toews who had 25 points in the second half. The Blues were able to cut the Royals lead to 84-82 on a J.P. Kamand layup with under a minute to play. However, the Royals were able to run a play at the end of the shot clock and Chris Veale knocked down a 3-pointer to put the game out of reach.
The Royals went on to win the game 89-83. Graeme McCallum scored 22 points for the Royals and Chris Veale had 17. The Blues were led by Nick Toews and J.P. Kamand who had 30 and 19 points respectively.

Graeame McCallum was named tournament MVP. Tournament All-Stars included Chris Veale from Douglas, Jeff Krawetz from Camosun, Kyle Watson from Langara, Nick Toews from Capilano, and Matt Senges from Kwantlen.

The Douglas men and women will now return to league play January 12 and 13 in Prince George as they take on the University of Northern British Columbia Timberwolves.


Royals win Bearcat Holiday Classic

Jan. 2, 2007

Abbotsford - The Douglas College Men's Basketball team returned to action after the Christmas break by winning the Bearcat Holiday Classic at Columbia Bible College this past week. The Royals beat the Kwantlen Eagles in the first game 84-61. They followed that up with a hard fought 95-86 win over the Everett Trojans from Washington State. In the last game the Royals came from behind to beat the Langara Falcons 77-66 to capture the tournament.

Thursday against Kwantlen, the Royals were without all-star guards Justin Adams and Chris Veale and it showed at the start. Kwantlen started off hot and were up 22-10 with 3 minutes left in the first quarter. However, the Royals turned it on from there. Trailing 33-22 with 8:28 to go in the first half, the Royals turned up the heat defensively and finished the half on a 20-0 run. The second half was much of the same as the Royals lead by as much as 30 points and cruised to a 84-61 win. Clayton Heuring led the Royals with 19 points and Andrew Sturgeon chipped in with 18. Rookie Ryan Hatch started his first game of the year and had a season high 6 blocks to go with 7 points and 7 rebounds.

Friday the Everett Trojans were a bigger test to the Royals. The Royals got up early and led 44-36 at half-time. However, the Trojans never gave up pulling to within 1 point, 83-82, with 4 minutes to go. For the second night in a row the Royals turned up the defence to finish on a 13-3 run and win the game 95-86. Andrew Sturgeon led a balanced Royals attack with 22 points and 9 rebounds. Donald Lindo added 15 points and Chris Veale and Shane Heuring both chipped in with 14 apiece. Also, Graeme McCallum started his first game of the year and contributed 9 points and 5 rebounds.

Saturday night saw the Royals take on an undermanned Langara squad who dressed only 8 players. However, the Falcons came out flying behind a tough guard trio of Paul Naka, Kyle Watson and Jeron Dillon. The Falcons led 37-32 at halftime. The second half was a different story. The Royals ran their offence with precision and got the ball to Tournament MVP, Andrew Sturgeon who had a big night.
In the end the deeper, more experienced Royals squad were able to pull away and win the game 77-66. Andrew Sturgeon put the exclamation point to the tournament with 2 monster dunks in the final minute. Sturgeon finished the game with 29 points and 13 rebounds. Clayton Heuring chipped in with 8 points and 9 rebounds and Justin Adams played his first game of the tournament and had a solid all-around game with 8 points, 5 rebounds and 7 assists.

The Royals Men's and Women's teams return to action this week at the Kwantlen Tournament. The Men open the tournament on Wednesday, January 3rd at 6 p.m. in a rematch with Langara. The Women will play their first game of the New Year on Thursday, January 4th at noon against Capilano.

Royals split in Washington State

December 4/06

This weekend the Douglas Royals Men's Basketball team traveled down south for a pair of exhibition games against U.S. Junior College competition.

Friday night saw the Royals play down in Mount Vernon against the Skagit Valley College Cardinals. The first half saw a very slow pace as the younger and smaller Cardinals slowed down the pace and used the U.S. College rules in their favor. The Royals, who are used to having a 24 second shot clock, found it difficult to play at the slower pace and found themselves trailing by 2 points at halftime.

Freshman Forward, Ryan Hatch »
Photo: Jerald Walliser

The second half was a lot of the same pace however the Cardinals tried their luck playing some zone against the bigger Royals team. This got 4th year guard Chris Veale going offensively with a bunch of open jumpers from the perimeter to put the Royals up 6 points with under 2 minutes remaining.
However, the momentum shifted as the young Cardinals squad put on a press that caused the Royals to turn the ball over on 3 straight possessions and pull within a point with 15 seconds remaining. That's when 4th year forward Andrew Sturgeon clamped down and blocked a potential winning shot preserving a Royals victory.

Veale paced the Royals with 20 points. It was also a break out game for Douglas rookie Ryan Hatch who scored only 2 points but had 6 rebounds and 6 blocked shots in just over 16 minutes.

Saturday the Royals traveled to Bellingham to play the Whatcom Community College Orcas. Again the Royals found themselves in a back and forth game, and tied at 37 at half time. The Royals used a balanced attack in the first half with no players with more than 7 points.

The second half saw the Douglas squad take the lead with about 9 minutes to go with a big bench contribution from 2nd year post Aman Virk and another hot shooting night from Chris Veale. Unfortunately the Orcas made some big 3
point shots and created some costly Douglas turnovers at the end. Final score was Whatcom 81- Douglas 75.

Veale again led the Royals in scoring with 24 points. Andrew Sturgeon was the only other Royal in double figures with 13.

Notes: The Royals were out rebounded for the first time this year 43-34 by Whatcom. Donald Lindo did not dress this weekend with a groin injury. Lindo has been absent in 3 out of  the 4 losses for the Royals this season. 2nd year forward Graeme McCallum and 1st year guard Cody Fox are set to suit up for the Royals for the first time over the Christmas break at the CBC tournament December 28-30 at CBC. 
Next Douglas home game is Saturday January 20th vs the UBC-Okanagan Lakers at Pinetree.

Royals Rebound
Douglas douse hot shooting Blues.

November 27, 2006

New Westminster, BC - The number one team in the country returned to form on Saturday after falling victim to a hot shooting Capilano team in Friday's night game. Just twenty four hours after a heart wrenching loss against the Capilano Blues, the Douglas College Royals men's basketball rebounded to win Saturday's night contest, 92-78.

In a complete team effort which had 12 of the 13 Royals scoring, the Royals seem to figure out what was needed to shut down a tenacious Cap team.

« Andrew Sturgeon slams one on Cap defender.
Photo: Jerald Walliser

The high scorer for the Royals was All-Canadian candidate, Andrew Sturgeon, who scored 18 points and grabbed 13 rebounds and was a monster inside despite getting into earlier foul trouble.

Clayton Heuring made impact as the deceptively talented forward dropped 12 points and snagged a half dozen rebounds, including a perfect night at the line (6/6). Scarborough native and Neil McNeil graduate, Donald Lindo, also played well as he hit for three of five from downtown in key possessions to keep the hounding Blues at bay.

With a league leading 6-1 record, the Royals sit in first place just two points ahead of Malaspina.

Next up, the Royals hit the road and head south of the border to play Skagit Valley on Friday in Mount Vernon, WA and then Whatcom College in Bellingham on Saturday night.

Sturgeon Named Athlete of Week - BCCAA Press

November 11, 2006

New Westminster, BC - The number two ranked team in the country were able to come away with a pair victories after this weekend's match up against the Columbia Bible College (CBC) Bearcats. In what many thought would be a one sided match up, the Bearcats proved to be a pesky opponent for the Royals.

After a slow start on Friday night which saw the bearcats leading for much of the first quarter, the Royals were able to create some breathing space with a last second three point dagger from Justin 'Bear' Adams to give the Royals a six point lead at half.

In the second half, the momentum continued for the Royals as they were able to put the 'Cats' to bed with a 93-74 victory. The Royals were led by a balanced attack as Senior, Chris Veale led the way with 19 points and 6 assists, just two points more than Adams and Andrew Sturgeon who each finished with 17 points. Aneetan Braich also chipped in 13 points.

In Saturday's game, a second quarter run by the Bearcats made the game interesting as the Royals only led by a deuce at the half (40-38). However, in third and fourth quarters, the Royals were able to close out the weekend as they came away with a 77-64 win.

Up front, Andrew Sturgeon had another big night with 18 points and 13 points. He was complimented by Shane 'Big Fish' Heuring who had 10 points and 7 rebounds.

Veale [Chris] also had a great night with 14 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists along with 6 steals.

The men will face off against the only other undefeated team in the league, the Malaspina Mariner in what will surely be a tough game in the Mal-U-Nation atmosphere.


The Big Fish, a Side of Veale and the Sturgeon.

November 6, 2006

New Westminster, BC - After a long anticipated wait, the highly touted men's basketball team traveled to Kelowna to take on the Okanagan Lakers in their first league game of the season. 
    "The keys to our success this season will be our depth," said Head Coach, Jamie Oei.

    "We had a grueling pre-season schedule to prepare us for the tough scheduling that we may encounter further down road at Provincials and possibly Nationals,"

The team opened their season with a series of tough pre-season games against several NCAA Division I teams such as New Mexico State, Mississippi State, and Dartmouth to name a few.

In addition to the cross border competition, the Royals hosted a pre-season tournament which boasted some of the top teams from BC, Alberta, and Saskatchewan. After rolling through the first two games of the tournament with victories over Lakehead and a top ranked Mount Royals team, the Royals were tripped up by Calgary's SAIT Trojans.

"The loss to SAIT in our tournament was definitely a wake up call for us," said Oei.

"It showed us that we were not ready to play a series of back to back games at a high level, but I think we have players that will be able to respond positively,"

One of the biggest reasons for the buzz surrounding the Royals is largely in due to the returning Royal, Chris Veale. Like a prodigal son, Veale has returned after several years away honing his talents.  In the 2003-2004 season, Veale was the BCCAA leading scorer with the Okanagan Lakers, however his ability to drop big numbers didn't translate into victories as the Lakers managed just two wins in league play.

Now surrounded with an abundant of talented players, Veale remains composed at the task ahead.

"The biggest challenge will for us to maintain the same intensity level, night in and night out," said Veal.

"However, this year we have a bunch of guys who are experienced at winning and finishing games,"

Despite the lost of All-Star forward, Cody Berg to UBC and forward, Jon Thompson to Brandon. The Royals rebuilt, replaced and upgraded to a pair of front courts players that could rival most CIS programs.

One of the guys that will provide a big lift to the Royals this year is senior, Andrew Sturgeon. The 6'5" forward from Port Alberni is probably one of the most athletic players in the country, 'letting off' an arsenal of aerial assaults on the domes of opponents on a nightly basis. Recently hampered by a sore knee, Sturgeon says he is ready to go.

"My knee is about 85%, but I'm ready to go," said Andrew
"I'm looking to provide leadership, defense, and rebounding to the team,"

Heading into this past weekend game at Okanagan, the Royals regain momentum as they were on a three game win streak with victories over Kwantlen, UNBC, and Camosun.

In Saturday's game, they continued their roll as the Royals crushed the Lakers 94 - 72.

The Royals had a huge performance from another fish of sorts, Shane 'Big Fish' Heuring. The 6'5" forward from Maple Ridge provides a big body in middle and brings a soft touch around the hoop and from the perimeter.

In Saturday's game, Heuring dropped 25 points and grabbed 6 rebounds, complimenting Sturgeon's 23 points and 10 rebounds effort. Chris Veale was named Player of the Game as he squashed 17 points and dropped 8 dimes in his old crib.

Future Stars - Jr.Royals Shine.
October 15, 2006

New Westminster, BC - This past weekend, the boys and girls of the Jr. Royals Basketball program took to the floor during the half-time break of the Men's basketball game to participate in the 3rd Annual Future Stars game.

Every Sunday morning, local kids from the New Westminster and Burnaby communities practice their basketball skills with coaches and players from the Douglas College basketball programs.
Leading this year's program was Royals' newcomer, Donald Lindo and the new Head Coach of the women's program, Katie 'Coach K' MacLeod.

     "This was lots of fun," said MacLeod after the halftime kids game. 
    "It was a great opportunity for the kids to show what they have learned in the past five weeks and also to see their Sunday morning coaches in action,"

Unfortunately, due to injury, Donald Lindo was unable play, but he was able to provide the Royals with the support they needed from the bench.
 "I'm still nursing an injury, but I need to be with my team." Said Lindo.

Thanks in part to the men's basketball coaching staff; the Jr. Royals were involved throughout the whole game and even part in starting introductions. 
   "Wow. That's was awesome," said Greg, a Jr. Royal player, after 'high fiving' Royals Forward, Andrew Sturgeon.
     "He's my favorite player...he dunked over me at Summer Camp."

'Coach K' cheering from the bench. »


After the half time show, Assistant Coach, Lee Borschowa asked the Jr. Royals to give the 'Big' Royals some support. 
        "I want to hear you screaming 'Defensive' in the crowd," said Borschowa.

The Jr. Royals will finish their six week session this Sunday at the New Westminster gymnasium.


Royals Basketball Tourney.
Tourney Results

Friday Oct. 13
Capilano 73 vs Kwantlen 68 (women)
Langara 82 vs Kwantlen 68 (men)
Douglas 32 vs Langara 52 (women)
Capilano 90 vs Mount Royal 94 (men)
Camosun 86 vs SAIT 98 (men)
Douglas 85 vs Lakeland 56 (men)

Saturday Oct. 14
10:00 Kwantlen 58 vs Douglas 41 (women)
12:00 Kwantlen 73 vs Camosun 82 (men)
2:00  Langara 68 vs Capilano 52 (women)
4:00  Lakeland 53 vs Langara 72 (men)
6:00  SAIT 90 vs Capilano 94 (men)
8:00  Mount Royal  77 vs Douglas 90 (men)

Sunday Oct. 15
10:00 Douglas 67 vs SAIT 88 (men)
12:00 Kwantlen 80 vs Lakeland 73 (men)
2:00  Camosun 61 vs Mount Royal 68 (men)
4:00  Langara 75 vs Capilano 86 (men)
6:00  Kwantlen 45 vs Langara 50 (women)
8:00  Douglas 48 vs Capilano 66 (women)


Alumni Game:The Ben-Gay Classic.
October 1, 2006

New Westminster, BC - The Douglas College Men's and Women's basketball teams held their annual Alumni games this past weekend at the New West campus in New Westminster, BC.
 
The first game featured the new look women's team with first year Head Coach, Katie McLeod of Maple Ridge. Led by sophomore guard, Patti Olsen and senior guard, Megan McKenna, the Royals defeated the Alumni by a score of 57-52. The Alumni relied heavily on former centre, Crystal Federow who netted 9 points and a handful of rebounds to keep the aging Alumni close.

Justin Adam
Photo: Jerald Walliser

In the men's match up, the Royals were led by forward, Andrew Sturgeon who had 25 points and 8 rebounds including two 'Massive' slams that delighted the crowd. 
     "It was nasty," said senior, Geoff Lenahan who didn't play due to injury.     
    "It was a pro-hop towards the middle and he just went up and slammed it right over one of his teammates,"
The Alumni were led by journey man Jim Martin who had 17 points; Cody Berg who finished with 12 points and 15 rebounds as well as Port Moody graduate, Hamed Nazzari dropped 13points.

     "It was a real entertaining game," said former Head Coach, David Munro who coached the Alumni squad. "It was good to see the competitiveness of some of the Alumni guys and the pride they took in the outcome of the game." The Royals went on to win the game by a score of 97-77.

Next up, the men will travel to Langley this Thursday to play against Trinity Western (TWU) and then battle the newly CIS inducted team of Fraser Valley  (UCFV) in Abbottsford on Friday. The women will travel to North Vancouver this  weekend for the Capilano Blues Tournament. Check team pages for more information.

Douglas Releases 2007 Recruiting Class

September 18, 2006

New Westminster, B.C.  - Upon his return from Costa Rica, Douglas College Men's Basketball Coach Jamie Oei has announced his roster for the 2006/07 season. The Royals look to improve on their 9-9 league record from 2005-06 season by bringing in some experienced BCCAA league players for this season.

The group is headed up by 2003 BCCAA 1st team all-star Chris Veale (4th year). Chris last played at Okanagan University College where he led the BCCAA in scoring with a 25 points per game average. Chris returns to Douglas after previously playing for the Royals in 2001-02.

Joining Veale are two former BCCAA 2nd team all-stars and former players for Coach Oei at Langara College. Justin Adams (4th year) joins the Royals after playing for Coach Oei's 2000-01 BCCAA silver medal team. Justin garnered BCCAA and CCAA tournament all-star selections that year to go along with his league all-star award. He is joined by former Langara and UNBC all-star forward Andrew Sturgeon (4th year). After a year off, Sturgeon looks to regain his all-star game.

Other transfers to the 2006-07 Royals include Kwantlen University College post Aman Virk (2nd year), University College of the Fraser Valley post Shane Heuring (4th year), and Memorial University point guard Donald Lindo (2nd year).

"With all the transfers and a few solid players back, we feel we have a good chance to compete for a BCCAA Championship," said Coach Oei.

Those returning players include guards Geoff Lenahan (4th year) and Jevon Boyde-Joseph (2nd year) along with forwards James Anderson (4th year) and Clayton Heuring (3rd year).

With all the experienced players being added this season, Coach Oei took only 2 first year players. However, the coaching staff expects both to play minutes right away. First is guard/forward Aneetan Braich from Pinetree Secondary in Coquitlam. Braich was a 1st team all-star at the 2006 BC AAA boys tournament where he finished 2nd in the tournament in scoring (31.5 ppg) and first in steals. The second is 6'8 post Ryan Hatch from North Delta Secondary school. Hatch, a former BC Provincial team member, was the first high school player to commit to Coach Oei this summer.

"We are extremely excited about our two rookies", said Coach Oei, "I think both can play minutes right away and I think both are extremely lucky to be playing the same positions as our top players. They will only get better with this year of experience."

The Royals will red shirt 3 players as well. Former Capilano College and Terry Fox Secondary forward Graeme McCallum (2nd year) will join the Royals second semester after he gets academically eligible. Joining McCallum as red shirts are former Terry Fox Secondary guard Cody Fox and Westview Secondary grad Kenny Baldassi.

Royals fly south to Costa Rica
After an exciting Labor Day weekend for the 2006-07 Douglas College Royals which saw them host 4 games with teams such as Arizona, New Mexico State, and Mississippi State, the Royals headed south to Costa Rica for 3 more pre season games. The Royals took on Division 1 Dartmouth College in 2 exhibition games as well as club team Saprissa.

Douglas College are coming off home losses to New Mexico State (101-60) on September 4th and Mississippi State (120-62) on September 3rd. Although the games looked very lopsided on the scoreboard, Head Coach Jamie Oei was happy with the weekend.

?We played hard and were competitive in the first half of both games,? said Oei, ? I think we learned a lot from the weekend about where we have to get to and what we need to work on to be successful this season.?

Oei continued, ?The trip to Costa Rica was a great chance for us to bond as a team as well as play some more pre season games against high level competition.?

Dartmouth is coming off a tough season where they finished 4-10 in the Ivy League Conference. However the Big Green?s coach, Terry Dunn, believes that he has a much improved team this season and can compete with the likes of Penn and Princeton for the conference championship. Dartmouth is led by returning players John Ball and Jason Meyers.

Douglas College returned to Vancouver on September 11th.

NCAA Thriller
Royals host New Mexico State, Mississippi State and University of Arizona

The Douglas Royals' men's basketball team return this week from an exhibition tournament in Costa Rica, South America. Before heading south of the border, the team brushed up on their spanish by playing New Mexico State and Mississippi State on the Labour day long weekend. 

Despite the colossal challenge of competing against a top calibre NCAA school, the Royals held their own against the New Mexico State Aggies and went into the halftime break down by 14 points.
 
    "It was a big challenge for us and I think we competed well," said Head Coach, Jamie Oei. 
    "However, whenever you are playing against teams of this calibre, they tend to wear you down. They are so big and so athletic," While the Royals appeared over matched on paper, they were a couple of players that played well. 
    
    Veteran point guard, Chris Veale as returned to Douglas for his final year and was instrumental on the offensive end as he drained 27 points. The big man in the middle, Andrew Strugeon was able to throw a couple of highlight dunks for the home crowd as he finished the game with 16 points and 9 boards. However the Aggies defeated the Royals by a score of 101-60. 

Andrew Strugeon
Photo: Jerlad Walliser: Southpaw Photography

In the Sunday's night match up against the Mississippi State Bulldogs, the Royals were leading for most of the first half before the athleticism and size of the Bulldogs prevailed. 
    "This is an exception team, who will cause problems for others come tourney time," said Oei. "I think our boys had a difficult time dealing their size and speed," 

For the home crowd, the rare opportunity to catch a glimpse of some Division 1, NCAA games was a real treat. But the best treat of the weekend came on Monday morning when the Hall of Fame Coach, Lute Olsen and the Arizona Wildcats played the UBC Thunderbirds.  
    "It's incredible," said Donald Lindo, a new Royals recruit from Toronto. "It's Lute Olsen in our gym,". The same sentiments were expressed by the nearly four hundred spectators who woke up early to be there at the 9:00am tip off.

To the delight of the hometown fans, UBC and Arizona put a crowd pleaser which had the packed gymnasium at the New Westminster campus on the edge of their seats. After trailing for a significant portion of the game, the Wildcats pull it out in the final minutes to defeat the Thunderbirds by a score of 87-76.

Douglas College to host pair of NCAA games.
 
July 6, 2006

New Westminster, B.C. - Douglas College is pleased to announce that they will host two NCAA Division 1 teams this upcoming season. Pac-10 powerhouse University of Arizona and Western Athletic Conference?s New Mexico State University will travel north to the New Westminster campus at Douglas College to participate in pre-season exhibition action this fall.

On Saturday, September 2nd at 6:30 p.m., former NBA player and current New Mexico State coach Reggie Theus brings his Aggies in to take on a revamped Douglas College Royals team. Second year Royals Head Coach Jamie Oei believes his Royals team will be able to be competitive against an up and coming New Mexico State team.

? We believe we have recruited a great bunch of kids for this upcoming season,? said coach Oei. ?We are very excited to play a New Mexico State team that has great tradition and we expect to go out there and give them a good game.?

Oei continues: ?Playing the Division 1 teams so early in the season gives our kids a chance to play together and to see the level of intensity they need to play at to be successful later on in the year?

The second game takes place Monday, September 4th at 9;00 a.m. and pits Hall of Fame Coach Lute Olsen?s Arizona Wildcats against perennial CIS powerhouse University of British Columbia Thunderbirds. 2005-06 CIS Coach of the Year and UBC bench boss Kevin Hanson returns Canada West Player of the Year Casey Archibald and adds Trinity Western University transfer Adam Friessen and 2006 Junior National team member Brent Malish. The Wildcats will again challenge for a Pac-10 title with 4 returning starters and look forward to bringing in 3 top freshman including McDonald?s High School All-American Chase Budinger.


Game 1
Douglas College vs. New Mexico State University
Saturday September 2, 2006
6:30 p.m.

Game 2
University of British Columbia vs. University of Arizona
Monday September 4, 2006
9:00 a.m.

Tickets can be purchased at the door.
For group tickets or two game passes please call (604) 527-5513.