Brent Mutis, CapU Sport Information & Compliance Officer

A late surge led by Tyrone Asenoguan got the Capilano Blues (6-3) close in the dying moments Saturday afternoon but it was not enough to overtake the Vancouver Island University (VIU) Mariners (6-0) in an eventual 101-92 defeat.

The Blues trailed by 18 at the start of the fourth quarter and after quickly catching his breath on the bench, Asenoguan re-entered the game with just under eight minutes to go and set about making things close. The 6-foot-3 guard would score 10 points in the fourth on 4-for-4 shooting, including a pair from three-point land, to go along with two rebounds and a steal.

Asenoguan’s three-pointer with just over a minute to go gave him a season-high 26 points and put the Blues within six at 98-92 but that was as close as it got. The Kitsilano Secondary grad had nine rebounds for the game while handing out two assists.

VIU led by nine at halftime and doubled their lead in the third quarter thanks to 12 points by guard Tori Odom. Richard Henderson led the Mariners with 24 points on the night.

Also reaching double figures in scoring for the Blues Saturday were Harry Liu (13), CJ Campbell (13), Martin Bogajev (11), Marko Cosic (10) and Owen Cutler with 10 off the bench.

In Friday night’s game, CapU took a five-point lead to the locker room with Cosic scoring 10 of his 18 on the night in the first half but VIU scored 30 in the third, led by eight from reserve Jayden Coke, to retake the lead for good.

Campbell knocked down eight of his 16 points on the night in the final quarter for the Blues but VIU held the visitors off for a 84-78 win.

Cameron Gay led the way for the Mariners with 18 points while Akoi Yuot (12 points, 11 rebounds) and Henderson (13 points, 10 rebounds) each had a double-double for the home side.

Asenoguan had 11 on Friday with eight boards while Campbell scored 16 and also pulled down eight rebounds. Liu went for 14 and six, keeping his double-digit scoring streak intact for the season at nine games.

The Blues have a break for exams and holidays now and are not scheduled to play again until Jan. 22, 2022 hosting VIU. Some postponed games may be made up before then however so watch this space and the PACWEST website (www.pacwestbc.ca) for updates.