BELLEVILLE – Loyalist men’s and women’s basketball teams will hit the court in the school’s first games of the 2016/17 season on Saturday.
Centennial College will pay a visit to Belleville to face off against both teams in the Lancer Dome. The women’s game kicks off the day at 1 p.m., while the men’s team plays at 3 p.m.
Both teams will look to improve this year. The men ended last season with a 7-13 record and tied for eighth in the eastern conference of the Ontario Colleges Athletic Association. Meanwhile, the women’s team ended its season tied for fifth in the eastern conference with a 7-7 record. The women’s team will play 17 games this season, three more than last year, while the men play 20 games again this season.
Tigh Chapman, a 24-year-old first year business marketing student at Loyalist, is a rookie on this year’s men’s team and has played for Algonquin and St. Lawerence College in the past. The team is getting off to a good start and meshing well under new head coach Patrick Kabeya.
“Our new coach Pat is doing fantastic. We’re building relationships everyday,” he said. “I think the team has grown from last year.”
As for the team’s chances, Chapman says he and other players are confident after strong performances in the preseason.
“Last weekend, we played Mohawk College and we took them into overtime,” Chapman said. “They’re one of the best teams in the [Western Conference of the Ontario Colleges Athletic Association]. I think we’re going to come out and show off our talents and I think we will pull out a win.”
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