After defeating the Canadian Mennonite University (CMU) Blazers 66–62, the men’s basketball team from Providence University College has once again claimed the title of Manitoba Colleges Athletic Conference (MCAC) champions.
The Pilots were the MCAC champions last year as well.
Fourth-year shooting guard Josh Armstrong says he is especially proud of his achievements at Providence.
“It feels so good to win back-to-back,” says Armstrong. “We capitalized on our regular season and worked hard. We were disciplined on defence at the end and it feels amazing to finish my last game in MCAC with a championship and Player of the Game recognition.”
Head coach Pierre Dubreuil says that it’s a blessing to be undefeated in the MCAC this year.
“CMU played hard,” Dubreuil says, “and we stepped up in the end as we played several games this year that were close in the last minute. And we knew how to step it up. What a finish!”
The Pilots will now kick off the Northern Intercollegiate Athletics Conference (NIAC) championships, which start on February 17 when they meet the Sisseton Wahpeton Mustangs in the quarterfinals.
Meanwhile, the Women’s basketball team defeated the Université de Saint-Boniface (USB) Les Rouges 125–40 on February 10. Two days later, they fell in the MCAC final 48–73 to the squad from Canadian Mennonite University.
However, the team’s win against USB was a remarkable one. The Pilots set records for most points scored in a game (125), most points scored in a half (67), and most three-pointers made in a game (18). During the match, all 14 players also scored points.
“The MCAC championships were exciting and a blast to be a part of,” says head coach Joel Coursey. “We felt locked-in when we played USB on Friday. The game started slow for us, but once we got going we couldn’t be stopped.”
Unfortunately, Sunday’s final proved to be an insurmountable challenge.
“The team played hard and we gave them a run for their money,” Coursey says. “But foul trouble set our offence back in the third quarter and we just weren’t able to hit our shots down the stretch. I am proud of what we have accomplished in our first season of system basketball, and I am optimistic heading into the NIAC tournament.”
The Pilots will face the Turtle Mountain Mighty Mikinocks in the quarterfinals in Minnesota.
The women’s volleyball team fought the Assiniboine Community College (ACC) Cougars on February 10–11 during a road trip to Brandon. The first game was a 3–2 win, but they lost the next day 2–3.
“It was a great weekend in Brandon,” says coach Kyle Guenther. “ACC has really pushed us the last few times we have played them, and once again we had two great battles. If we can play like we did this past weekend, we will be a tough team heading into the final stretch of the season.”
The men’s volleyball team had a thrilling weekend versus ACC, first winning 3–0 and then 3–1.
The Pilots only have one conference match remaining before the playoffs and head coach Cody Quiring says that the team will be ready.
“While not every area of our systems and game plan were as crisp as we would like, we found success on the serve receive and side-out game,” says Quiring. “We look forward to a big week of prep as we head into senior night this coming Friday.”
On February 17, the Pilots volleyball franchise will celebrate senior night by recognizing seniors Alex Buhler, Taylor Hiebert, and Morgan Thiessen—and finally, Nate Martin of Niverville.
Having already clinched a playoff spot heading into this past weekend, the women’s futsal team faced CMU and Brandon University. The women defeated CMU 6–0 then lost to Brandon 4–5.
“I am really happy how this team has been progressing this season,” says coach Tory Walker. “It was really great getting to play in front of our fans again and we had a blast of a day Sunday. I’m looking forward to the playoffs this weekend.”
The women’s futsal team will compete in the MCAC championships beginning this upcoming Saturday. The team will start with a semifinal match against the Brandon University Bobcats.
The men’s futsal team concluded their regular season with a 3–4 loss against CMU and a crushing 0–10 loss against BU. Unfortunately, they did not qualify for the MCAC championships this year.
