Brent Mutis, CapU sport info & compliance officer
In a thrilling quarter-final meeting against the George Brown College Huskies that featured lead changes, dunks, buzzer beaters and high drama of all varieties, the Capilano Blues ended up on the losing side of a 120-113 overtime result Thursday at the CCAA national championship.
Blues guard Josh Dhillon hit one of the most dramatic shots in team history to force overtime. Trailing 103-100 with 4.9 seconds remaining, Capilano caught a break as Huskies guard Robert Ocampo missed both his free throws. The rebound from the second miss was grabbed by David Featherston who got it into the hands of Tyrone Asenoguan who raced the length of the court passing off to Dhillon for a corner three as time expired and it was all net. The crowd on hand erupted at the dramatic finish to regulation as Dhillon was swarmed by teammates.
To their credit, George Brown under head coach Jason Dawkins were able to gather themselves and focus on overtime where they made the made the first three buckets and maintained their lead through to the final buzzer.
CapU started the game well with Zach Klim scoring seven points in the opening frame on his way to a season-high 23 and a Player of the Game nod. The Huskies got 17 points off the bench in the second quarter and took a 53-49 lead into halftime.
Capilano evened things up over the course of the third quarter on the strength of 14 points from Dhillon which included two from downtown. Klim continued his assault on the rim in the third quarter with eight more points and a couple of emphatic dunks while Jeremiah Brown matched him with eight of his own, playing just three minutes of the third quarter for the Huskies in a reserve role.
With the score knotted 81-81 going to the final 10 minutes, the teams traded buckets right down the final second. George Brown led by as much as six with under two minutes left but they went 3-of-8 from the free-throw line in the fourth, leaving the door open a crack for the Blues. A dunk from Featherston with seven seconds to go got CapU within three which set the stage for Dhillon's fireworks.
WATCH: FEATHERSTON'S LATE DUNK
With the win, George Brown moves to Friday's semifinals where the meet tournament host SAIT.
Capilano faces Holland College of Prince Edward Island in a tipoff at 2 p.m. Pacific time Friday.
This is the first time in program history the Blues have gone to consecutive national championships.
WATCH: ASENOGUAN'S BACK DOOR DUNK
WATCH: ZACH KLIM FINISHES WITH TWO HANDS