For immediate release

January 13, 2009

Eagles start 2009 on a winning note

(Surrey, BC) The Kwantlen Eagles basketball teams opened 2009 with a series of games against the Columbia Bible College (CBC) Bearcats last weekend.

The women’s team earned a pair of wins over the Bearcats, winning 89-46 on Friday. Leading the way for the Eagles was Taminder Dhaliwal (Surrey) with 21 points and Chantelle Doerksen (Abbotsford) added 16 points and six rebounds. On Saturday, Melissa Adrian (Langley) was lethal from the three-point line going 5/8 and racking up 19 points. Complementing Adrian’s output, Shmyla Thandi (Surrey) added 14 points and four rebounds as the Eagles downed the Bearcats 88-54.

“It’s always great to start the New Year off with back-to-back wins,” said head coach Gary Pawluk. “These results show that we are improving and ready to compete with the other schools. It’s something to build upon and has given us some confidence as we begin the rush to the playoffs.”

The men’s team opened their weekend with a 75-61 victory of the Bearcats. Nick Lafleur (Maple Ridge) led the Eagles offense, racking up 19 points, Kevin Kokoska (Langley) added 14 points and five rebounds; while Omid Davani (Port Coquitlam) contributed with 18 points and 14 rebounds.

On Saturday, the Eagles faced a hot shooting Bearcat team that hit 35% from beyond the arc. This, along with a slow start, resulted in a 75-86 defeat and evened their record to 4-4 in league play. Lafleur again led the Eagles in scoring with 26 points, while Kokoska answered with 17.

“CBC is one of the teams that we will be battling against for a playoff spot so these games were ‘must have,” said head coach Bernie Love. “Fortunately, we still own the tie-breaker (points differential) against CBC so we control our playoff fate. Friday’s game demonstrated that when we play well, we’re among the best teams in the province; but, considering the standings we need to play our best from here on out.”

The month of January plays host to five more home league games for the Eagles. Next up for the Eagles is the Langara Falcons who will fly into the Eagles nest on Friday, January 16 at 6:00pm and 8:00pm.