Men's Basketball Huskies return to ACAC Championship game, secure spot at CCAA Nationals
The Keyano Huskies Men’s Basketball team will have an opportunity to defend their 2023-24 Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference (ACAC) Championship following a 88-82 win over the St. Mary’s University Lightning Friday in the semifinals.
In another classic battle between the two powerhouse programs, the Huskies chipped away at an early seven-point deficit before fending off a comeback attempt by the top two scorers in the entire conference this season.
“I think there’s so much familiarity between the two teams,” Head Coach Jeremy Wielenga said. “It was an absolute battle. Credit to them, they pushed right until the end.
“We were fortunate enough to make a couple more plays and be on top.”
Despite the early deficit, the Huskies early shooting woes of their quarter-final game didn’t rear their head in Friday’s battle. After making one three-point shot in the opening quarter, they were dialed in with five in the second quarter to keep the gap at a single point at the half.
The game wasn’t just another semi-final, but also the closing of a chapter in the rivalry between the Lightning and Huskies with key players set to depart from both sides following the end of this season.
After the Lightning won an exhibition battle before the start of the season, the Huskies took the regular season matchup. Wielenga said either game had little bearing on how today’s matchup played out.
“I don’t think that game really had any effect on it, but it’s more about we know the matchups so well, we know the personnel so well,” he said. “Both teams know each other inside and out so it just boiled down to execution and I thought we executed very well in some pretty big moments.”
Even as Keenan Miller was forced off the court with an injury, it was a next-man-up mentality for the Huskies.
After seeing just 17 minutes of action Thursday, Keenen Caribou stepped up to provide 36 minutes of play and 16 points, including a three-point shot as the clock passed the two-minute mark remaining in the fourth quarter.
“I obviously knew I had to take him out of the game, but it was just next man up,” Wielenga said of replacing Miller. “That’s the only thing you can do in those situations. I thought our bench did a real good job of stepping up and going in big moments.
“Ben went in there at the end and Efe and everybody that played for us.”
Through all the changes, Nahshon Hurst and Omeechi Williams were constants for the Huskies. Hurst led the Pack with 21 points, one ahead of Williams, scoring 15 of the team’s 47 second-half points.
“We stalled out at times where we weren’t scoring,” Wielenga continued. “We just decided to go back to Nahshon.
“He’s a veteran, he’s a fifth year. He’s a big reason why we won last year. When it was time to get the ball inside, that was one of our focuses and we did it. He executed very well.”
Williams did his damage in the second quarter, scoring nine of the Huskies’ 28 points to help get them back in the game at the time.
Huskies qualify for CCAA nationals, set to meet Clippers in Championship game
With the win, the Huskies secured their second-straight appearance at the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Men’s Basketball National Championship.
They’ll do battle with the host Briercrest College Clippers to determine if they’ll go into the national tournament as the ACAC Champion or Wild Card.
Acknowledging the success, Wielenga’s focused remained on Saturday’s championship matchup.
“We’re not really thinking about it,” he said of securing the nationals spot. “We know that’s obviously the consequence of the game, but we’re very excited to play for a championship tomorrow.
“That’s our only concern right now.”
The 2025 ACAC Men's Basketball Championship game will occur Saturday, March 1 at 5:00pm MT in Caronport, Sask. The game will be available on https://acactv.ca/
The 2025 CCAA Men’s Basketball Championship will take place from March 10-15, 2025, hosted by the Vanier College Cheetahs from Montreal, Que.