Brent Mutis, CapU sport info & compliance officer

If the Capilano Blues could have avoided playing the third quarter, they might have had a very nice weekend against the visiting Vancouver Island University (VIU) Mariners, the top-ranked team in the CCAA.

VIU outscored CapU by a combined score of 62-27 in the first frame after halftime Friday and Saturday on their way to a weekend road sweep to maintain an unbeaten record in the PACWEST (14-0). The Blues dropped to 7-7 and have lost four of their last five.

Saturday's game saw VIU's U.S. imports Tori Odom and Richard Henderson go for 27 and 22 points respectively on the way to a 95-85 win but it was again the Mariners' dominant third quarter that put them in command. They turned a two-point lead at halftime into a 20-point cushion going to the fourth quarter. Odom had 11 in the third while Henderson had eight.

CapU started strong on Saturday with Josh Dhillon scoring 10 of his 22 on the night in the first 10 minutes while Tyrone Asenoguan had 11 of his 27 as the home side got out to a six-point lead. VIU moved in front in the second quarter and never looked back.

David Featherston had his best game in Blues colours since joining the team in January. The 6-foot-5 forward bulled his way to 20 points, mainly in the paint, and pulled down 12 boards while adding two blocks.

On Friday, VIU started fast, forging an 11-2 lead just over three minutes in prompting a Blues timeout. CapU regrouped and competed with the Mariners the remainder of the first half with Asenoguan scoring 16 and Featherston seven. 

VIU exploded out of the gate in the second half, getting 14 and 11 from Odom and Henderson, while holding the Blues to 13 points to make the outcome of the game all but certain. Russell Curley scored seven of his nine in the fourth, Brett Carey had five of his seven and Scott Watson hit his first three of the season but it was not enough. 

Capilano was without the services of Shakir Yakubu and Marko Cosic on the weekend as they work back from injury.

Next up for the Blues is a home set Feb. 10 and 11 against Columbia Bible College with the latter game being Blues Senior Night as graduating players Marko Cosic and CJ Campbell will be honoured. Game start is 8 p.m. both nights.