It鈥檚 not going to be easy to knock the Langara Falcons off their lofty perch. The Falcons (17-1) currently sit atop the Pacific Western Athletic Association men鈥檚 basketball standings and also hold down the No. 1 spot in national Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association rankings.
Langara head coach Paul Eberhardt, the 2013 national coach of the year, attributes the team鈥檚 success to an emphasis on fundamentals.
鈥淚 have great players. I have an experienced team, so I have got some older guys, that helps, and they are very talented,鈥� he said.
One of the talented Falcons who has contributed to the team鈥檚 success 鈥� they lead the nation in scoring an average of 100.8 points per game 鈥� has been six-foot-three point guard Brody Greig.
His coach called the 2013 all-Canadian 鈥渙utstanding.鈥�
鈥淗e is an amazing player. He kind of runs our offence, so he is like the leader of our team.鈥�
Last Saturday in Abbotsford, Greig helped the Falcons extend their winning streak to 15 games by racking up 23 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists and two steals in a 110-96 win over the Columbia Bible College Bearcats.
Greig credits Eberhardt鈥檚 system, and the team for buying into it, for his success and the team鈥檚 stellar play this season.
鈥淚t is a fast-break system. If the team makes or misses, I am getting the ball and everyone has a lane to sprint. First guy open, shoot the ball. Everyone loves to play in it because鈥痶hey love to shoot and it is fun,鈥� said Greig, a four-year Falcon.
Eberhardt still says he and the team never take anything for granted.
鈥淭he boys have great chemistry, but you still have to play all the games, so we have to be sure we don鈥檛 let up,鈥� he said.
The Falcons face a tough test Friday, as they visit arch-rival 麻豆传媒映画Island University Mariners (14-4) in Nanaimo.鈥�
Eberhardt said the game against VIU, the defending national champions who are currently tied for second in league standings with the Quest University Kermodes, will be a grind.
鈥淲e have beaten them twice this year [102-85 on Nov. 29 and 89-74 on Jan. 25], but both games have been tough.
We need to win the battle of the boards and go inside to our forwards and we need to contain Brandon Jones, who is one of the top guards in the league,鈥� Eberhardt said.
Greig agreed that containing Jones, second in league scoring, averaging 19.5 points per game, is key.
鈥淲e definitely double team him every time he gets the ball鈥� Just so he has to pass, because otherwise he could score 40 [points] no problem,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hey are going to be coming to us鈥� but if we play good defence, we will be fine.鈥�
鈥疶he Falcons stay on the Island for a game against the Camosun College Chargers (6-12) in Victoria on Saturday and then round out the regular season against the Douglas College Royals (7-11) on Feb. 21.
