The Briecrest College men’s basketball team has had more than their fair share of tough seasons in recent Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference campaigns, but 2023-24 most definitely isn’t one of them.
No, the Clippers are one of the hottest teams in the league and at the perfect time of the season, as they enter the final weekend of the campaign on a six-game winning streak.
Briercest got the job done this past weekend with a pair wins on the road in Edmonton, defeating The King’s University 68-60 Friday and Concordia 97-73 Saturday.
The Clippers wasted little time getting things going in the opener, taking a 28-17 lead out of the first quarter. Jude Shepherd-Hills led the way with 16 points and 10 rebounds, while Francis Dogani had 12 points. Moose Jaw’s Kaedyn Banilevic had three points, while Riley Seaborn contributed four points and five rebounds.
The bout with Concordia saw Owen Shepherd-Hills score 22, while Jude Shepherd-Hill had 16. Corbin Gegenback put up 12 and Zachary Martens hauled in 14 rebounds. Seaborn had nine points, Banilevic added six.
The Clippers are now 12-7 on the season and have pulled into a three-way tie for third place in the ACAC South, They’ve also locked down a playoff spot with a weekend to go, with games at home against NAIT and Grande Prairie next weekend.
The defending ACAC champion men’s volleyball team got back on track with a pair of wins, defeating King’s 25-17, 23-25, 25-22, 25-23, 16-14 in their opener and rolling to a 25-10, 25-15, 25-19 win over Concordia in their second game.
Karym Coleman once again did his thing, putting down 29 kills and also racking up eight digs. Jackson Anderson added 11 kills and Adam Revet 10, while Brady Watchel had 10 digs. Jeremy Martens was busy at setter with 55 assists.
There was far less drama against 2-17 Concordia, with Coleman only needing 10 kills to lead things. Watchel had six digs, Martens 25 assists. Tanner Bean also had four service aces.
The Clippers cap the regular season with a 15-4 record and in second place in the ACAC South. Next up is the ACAC Championship tournament at Olds during the Feb. 22 weekend.
The Clippers men’s hockey team split their two games, but remain a single point up on Red Deer for first place in the ACAC with a 15-5-2-0 record.
Briercrest dropped a 5-3 decision to Concordia on Friday in Edmonton but rebounded with a 3-1 win over the Thunder on Saturday.
Brandon Kelly had the lone goal for the Clippers in the first two periods of the opener as Briecrest trailed 3-1 early in the third. Kelly’s second of the game and a power play marker from Jacob Arsenault tied things up midway through the final period, but Concordia scored the game winner a minute after Aresnault’s goal.
Alex Worthington stopped 26 shots in the loss.
Things were tied 1-1 heading into the third Friday, but Kelly and Colton Aikens would score ito secure the win. Kelly also scored in the first, giving him four goals on the weekend.
Dominik Tmej stopped 20 shots for the win.
The Clippers are at home against SAIT this weekend, with games at 7 p.m. Friday and 2 p.m. Saturdy at the Barkman Arena.
The Clippers women’s basketball couldn’t have had a pair of closer games if they tried, winning 64-63 over King’s and falling 79-78 to Concordia.
Friday saw Melissa Ellis put down three free throws in the final 16 seconds and Asia Wells knock down the winning point from the charity stripe as time ran down.
Brooklyn Martens had 15 points and Dori Sunderland 13, while Wells added 11.
The game against Concordia saw the Thunder take the lead with 1:11 to play before hanging on for the one-point win.
Amber Fichtner scored 18 points, while Wells had 16 and Martens 11.
The Clippers are now 11-8 and fifth in the South, and they close out their regular season at home against NAIT at 6 p.m. Friday and Grande Prairie at 4 p.m. Saturday.
Briercrest women’s volleyball didn’t have a lot of luck against King’s in their match-up, falling 25-23, 25-22, 25-19, but they were able to bounce back nicely with a 26-24, 25-22, 23-25, 20-25, 15-7 win over Concordia.
Julia Beer had nine kills and eight digs in the opener, while Rachel Stead also had nine kills. Peacock grad Summer Okerstrom had six kills and five digs.
Beer was back at it on Saturday with 18 kills and 14 digs, while Stead had 20 kills and Buhler 18. Abigail Ulrich picked up 13 digs, Okerstom had three kills and two aces.
The Clippers finish the regular season with a 12-7 record and in second place in the South, with the ACAC tournament in Lethbridge during the Feb, 22 weekend up next.
