PACWEST recognizes Chargers basketball achievements

On the women’s team, Tamiya Ness (Smithers Secondary/Smithers, B.C.) was named a PACWEST Second Team All-Star.

On the men’s team, Takeshi Croke (Reynolds Secondary/Victoria, B.C.) picked up a First Team All-Star nod, Jake Wilmott (St. Michael’s University School/Victoria, B.C.) was named a Second Team All-Star, and Noah Helman (Claremont Secondary/Victoria, B.C.) and Jaimie Palamos-Molins (Oak Bay High School/Victoria, B.C.) earned spots on the All-Rookie Team.

Ness picked up 163 rebounds on the season, averaging 7.4 per game, for second in the league. She also led the team with 46 assists (3.07 game average), which landed her third in the PACWEST.

Croke led the Chargers in overall points on the season (223), an average of 14.1 per game, and finished third in the league assists with an average of 4.19 (67 total). In addition, he finished the season with 86 rebounds and 19 steals. Takeshi is on the leaderboard in points, assists, and steals, showing that he uses his speed, intelligence, and skill to be a catalyst for the Chargers offense and defense.

Leading by example, fifth year Wilmott contributed tremendously on both ends of the court this season. He picked up 121 rebounds, landing him in the league’s top 10 with an average of 6.72 per game. He averaged 9.89 points per game, and contributed 36 assists, and 20 steals. Wilmott also finished the season second behind Croke in team overall points (178).

In his first season as a Charger, Helman was called upon to fill a starter’s role throughout the first semester, and the results were admirable. He earned 165 points in 18 games (9.17 per game average) and picked up 93 rebounds. Noah earned PACWEST Player of the Week for the week November 15 – 21, 2021, and CCAA Athlete of the Week on November 24, 2021.

Palamos-Molins finished his rookie season third overall in team points with 173, just five points behind fifth year Wilmott.

The most impressive part of his game is on the defensive end. His ability to create problems for opposing guards can be evidenced by the fact that he led the Chargers with 29 steals, good for sixth in the PACWEST.

The 2022 PACWEST basketball championship is set to begin on March 3, 2022 at the Columbia Bible College (CBC) in Abbotsford. The six-team tournament gives the top two seeds a bye into the semi-finals, which are scheduled for Friday. The medal matches will take place on March 5, 2022, with both first and second place winners punching their tickets to nationals.

The women’s basketball team, who finished fifth overall (7-11), will start their run for the PACWEST Championship on Thursday night against the fourth seeded Douglas College Royals (10-8) in the quarterfinal.

The women’s basketball team settled for fourth place finish at their last PACWEST championship appearance in 2020, after bringing home the bronze in 2019 and silver in 2018. The game will be streamed live on the PACWEST website starting at 5:30pm.

The second ranked men’s Chargers basketball team (13-5) receives a quarterfinal bye and will wait to see who they face off against in the semi-final, which will either be third ranked Capilano Blues (10-6) or sixth seed Okanagan Coyotes (5-11). The Chargers are coming off a hot streak, winning seven of their last eight games down the home stretch.

The men’s basketball team brought home back-to-back bronze medals in 2019 and 2020, with their best finish was silver in 2016. Their drive for the PACWEST championship goes on Friday at 3pm and can be live streamed on the PACWEST website.

The winner of the women's bracket will represent the PACWEST at the CCAA national finals, which will be hosted at VIU. The Mariners already have a berth in the championship as the host team, so the PACWEST will also send a second team.

On the men's side, the champion will travel to Ontario and play at Humber College in Toronto for the national championship. The PACWEST will receive a wildcard berth to nationals so both teams playing for PACWEST gold on Saturday will be off to the “six.”