The University of the Fraser Valley basketball teams both took a step forward in the new Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) national polls released Tuesday.
Both Cascades squads were coming off wins over Trinity Western last Thursday in Langley, and the men (13-5) jumped one spot to No. 4 in the CIS rankings – a new high water mark for the program. The women (12-6) also moved up one spot, from No. 10 to No. 9.
The UFV hoops teams both own home court advantage for the first round of the Canada West playoffs. Those best-of-three series run Feb. 23-25 at the Envision Athletic Centre, with the Cascades men taking on the Lethbridge Pronghorns and the women facing the Calgary Dinos.
BRUINS FIT TO BE TIED
The Fraser Valley Bruins major midget hockey team kept their playoff hopes alive by grinding out a pair of ties on the weekend against the Greater Vancouver Canadians.
At Burnaby Winter Club on Saturday, the Bruins and Canadians battled to a 4-4 draw. Then at Chilliwack's Prospera Centre on Sunday, Fraser Valley forward Mitch Skapski's goal with 1:39 left in the third period produced a 3-3 tie. Matt Revel had a solid weekend for the Bruins, notching two goals and one assist to boost his team-leading point total to 44 in 33 games.
With six games remaining, the Bruins (13-14-7) are just three points back of the North Island Silvertips for the B.C. Major Midget League's sixth and final playoff spot. This weekend, they host the Kootenay Ice at MSA Arena on Saturday (3:30 p.m.) and at Prospera Centre on Sunday (10 a.m.).
T-WOLVES TERRIFIC
The Grade 9 boys basketball team from Robert Bateman Secondary took gold at a recent tournament at G.P. Vanier Secondary in Courtenay.
The Timberwolves opened the Towhee Invitational with a 49-36 win over Mount Prevost from Duncan. Iqbal Grewal led the offence with 23 points, while Dilvir Brar chipped in with 11.
Bateman knocked off the host Vanier squad 59-50 in the semifinals, with Grewal and Brar tying for team-high scoring honours with 15 points and Callum McDonald adding 11.
In the final, the T-Wolves crushed Dover Bay of Nanaimo 47-28 behind 15 points from Grewal and 14 from Austen Zacher.