Some of Atlantic Canada’s top university basketball players are heading to Saint John.
UNB Saint John is gearing up to host the ACAA basketball championships this weekend.
It is the first time the university has hosted the league championships in several years.
Paul Vaughan, the head coach of the men’s basketball team, said they are feeling good about their chances.
“This year you got to find that balance between tapering the load and getting guys healthy, but also just fine-tuning some things,” Vaughan told our newsroom.
“So that’s been my primary focus with the coaching staff is just what can we fine-tune between now and the start of the tournament.”
The top six women’s and men’s teams in the league are competing in the three-day tournament, which begins Friday.
UNB Saint John’s men’s team finished the regular season in third place and the women’s team finished in sixth.
Moira Gagnon, who coaches the women’s team, said it is exciting to have home-court advantage for the tournament.
“A lot of the girls are really keen, especially the seniors since it’ll be their last time and not only playing for UNBSJ but probably playing competitive basketball in their life,” said Gagnon.
“So it’s a great opportunity for their families and their friends to be able to watch them in their home facility, which is nice.”
Yeah, and hopefully you enjoy some home crowd support, some home cooking and everybody gets to sleep in their own bed, so take full advantage of that,” Vaughan added.
Both head coaches said there has been lots of interest leading up to the tournament, with many people reaching out to find out how to buy tickets.
The women will play Mount Allison University in the quarter-finals at 1 p.m. Friday while the men will face the University of King’s College at 3 p.m.
Gagnon said the women are feeling confident since they played Mount Allison in their final two games of the regular season.
“When we played them on Saturday, we lost but only by one point, so we do know that we’re competitive with them and that one little different thing happens in a game and we could have won that one,” she said.
Tournament and day passes are available online. Day passes can also be purchased on-site at the G. Forbes Elliot Athletics Centre.
You can find the full schedule on the ACAA’s website.
