Brent Mutis, CapU sport info & compliance officer

A night after scoring 35 in the opening quarter, the Capilano Blues managed just 33 points in the first half Saturday as they dropped a 79-75 decision to the visiting Douglas College Royals, splitting the weekend set.

Capilano (5-3 PACWEST) shot just 13-of-46 over the first 20 minutes and trailed 44-33 going to halftime. Josh Dhillon sparked the home side in the third quarter, drilling three from downtown and picking up 12 points to help the Blues to within three going to the fourth quarter.

Douglas (4-6 PACWEST) did just enough in the final 10 minutes to earn the win. CapU got eight in the fourth quarter from Russell Curley, including a pair of threes, and were leading 75-73 after two made free throws from Dhillon but Douglas' Jeevan Sidhu hit a big three with just over a minute remaining to put the Royals ahead for good.

Faulty free throw shooting also did in the Blues as they were 11-for-22 from the stripe.

Friday's opener featured a thrilling, down-to-the-wire finish as the Blues hung on for a 100-97 victory over the Royals.

CapU appeared to have the proceedings in hand, up 12 at 98-86 with 3:19 to go after a three from Tyrone Asenoguan (interview audio below), one of his six from beyond the arc for the night. They'd be stuck on 98 for over two minutes however and after a three from Corez Johnson, the Royals were within five at 98-93.

A technical foul assessed to Douglas' Kai Bohmert for taunting after the ball was poked away from the Blues' Dhillon allowed CapU to catch their breath and the made free throw by Asenoguan provided just the breathing space needed. Douglas' Ekman Sohal made one of two from the line with 40 seconds left making it a two-point game but when Marko Cosic was intentionally fouled in the dying seconds and made one of two, a full-court heave was the Royals last chance but the shot fell short as the final buzzer sounded.

Asenoguan finished with a game- and season-high 32 while Shakir Yakubu had 18 and David Featherston Jr. had 10 plus a big block in his CapU debut.

Next up for the Blues are road trips to Camosun Jan. 20 and 21 and to Langara on Jan. 27 and 28. Next action at CapU's Centre for Sport and Wellness is the Feb. 3-4 weekend with Vancouver Island University coming to town. Friday's game an 8 p.m. tipoff and Saturday's game starting at 3 p.m.