Royals cap off their regular season with back to back wins

The Douglas College Royals men's and women's basketball teams wrapped up their regular season's with respective back to back home wins against the Camouson Chargers.

The women now head into the 2020 PACWEST Championship tournament having secured the 3^rd seed, while the men having clinched 1^st.

On Saturday, the first half of the women's game was back and forth as no team would lead by more than four in the first two quarters.

However, it was in the second half where the Royals got ahead as Royals second-year guard Cassandra Brinn's 13 second-half points helped the Royals outscore the Chargers 38-14 in the second half to take the game 67-45.

The men's game saw the Royals generate momentum early as 13 of Royals guard Josiah Mastandrea's 15 first half points scored in the first quarter helped Douglas lead by 12 heading into the second quarter.

The Royals then opened the gap even further as they outscored the Chargers 22-7 to close out the half.

The Chargers would then try to bring it back as Douglas would only outscore the Chargers by one in the 3^rd quarter.

Ultimately, the Royals first half efforts would prove too much to come back from as 10 of Royals second-year forward Bollo Gnahore's 18 total points, and 8 of his 14 total rebounds in the fourth quarter would help the Royals win the game 101-65.

On Sunday, the women's victory came at a much higher price as the Chargers were the ones who came out strong, outscoring the Royals 42-32 in the first two quarters with Chargers fourth-year forward Jasmine de Vries scoring 18 points in the first half.

The Royals then turned things around as a 12-4 run in he 3^rd quarter cut the chargers lead down to 1 with under 5 minutes to go in the 3^rd quarter.

Both teams continued to compete back and forth into the fourth quarter and it wasn't until the last minute of the game with both teams tied at 72, where Royals guard Cassandra Brinn's two made free throws and a layup off a turnover gave Douglas a four point lead with less than 30 seconds to go.

The Chargers then tried to bring it back by sending Royal's guard Sydney Fraess to the free throw line twice and making two three pointers.

Ultimately, the Royals lead combined Fraess going 4/4 from the free throw line showed to be too much for the Chargers to come back from.

"The results were exactly what we needed to secure the 3^rd seed for us.  Once we realized we couldn't get 2^nd, we made it our goal to secure 3^rd and I'm happy we did it." Said Royals head coach Steve Beauchamp when asked about how felt about the weekend.

When commenting on how he felt about the regular season and about the upcoming PACWEST Provincial tournament Beauchamp said:

"The season reflected our youth; you saw us progressing and making some really positive steps. And then as youth does, your going to make a bunch of mistakes that you have to learn from. We're pretty excited about where we're at, we've beaten every team except VIU. Anything can happen and the fact that it's a sudden death game is something that we're looking forward to. We've got our aspirations set on making the final."

Relatively like the night before, the men's spectacular start opened a gap too wide for the Chargers to come back from as they outscored Camosun 26-8 in the first quarter and 62-58 the rest of the game, winning the game 88-66.

Royals second-year guard Dylan Kinley finished with 28 points and Gnahore finished with a season high 21 points.

"I was really happy with our performance, especially because of the time of year, being short staffed without Courtney (Anderson) and Jio (Jiordano Khan) being out. I thought the guys battled hard, and Dylan (Kinley) really showed he could step up playing 35+ minutes both nights. We were very happy with our depth and it showed this weekend." Said Royals head coach Joe Enevoldson when asked about how he felt about the weekend.

When talking about what he feels the Royals need to do to win the tournament, Enevoldson said:

"I think we have to continue to focus on what we focus on and get better everyday at practice. We had a great regular season, but it means nothing now, we're 0-0 going into the playoffs. We must have that attitude now and really dial that in. On that Friday night you're essentially playing for you're season and the next night your playing for the championship if you're fortunate enough to get there."

This year's PACWEST Basketball Championship tournament will be hosted by Capilano University from February 27^th-29^th.