By Josh Shwaykowski
The 橘子视频 Hurricanes 2024-2025 men’s basketball team had an up and down season, but went on a hot streak at the end, finishing in second place and providing them with Atlantic Collegiate Athletic Association (ACAA) championship hopes.
However, they would lose in semi-final action to the championship hosts from the University of New Brunswick Saint John (UNBSJ) Seawolves.
The team’s season started out with two wins and two losses, but head coach Tim Kendrick thought they were better than their record showed.
“Early on, I thought we had a chance to be quite good because of the players work ethics and because of their attitudes,” he said. “It was a great group.”
The team struggled to string wins together and found themselves 4-4 heading into the month-long December break.
Returning to action in the middle of January, the team continued their .500 season, splitting two games against the Seawolves to leave them at 5-5.
That’s when something finally clicked, the Hurricanes went on to win nine of their last 10 games, including winning their last eight regular season games.
Kendrick said the team finally found their footing.
“As the season goes on players tend to get better, get more comfortable, and our players did a great job,” he said.
Culture played a big role in the team’s performance all season.
“I think if players aren’t having fun, if they’re not enjoying it, it’s hard to come every day and put your best foot forward,” said Kendrick. “So, we try and establish a culture where guys are having fun, cracking jokes, but when it comes time to put in the work, the guys do it.”
The `Canes weren’t just winning games during that streak, they were dominating. Besides a one-point thriller against the Crandall University Chargers, their smallest margin of victory was nine points.
The team placed second overall in the ACAA regular season standings and secured a bye to the semi-finals.
Kendrick said his guys were ready for ACAA playoff action.
“We felt like we were poised to make a run,” he said.
The `Canes played their last regular season game Sunday, Feb. 9, this was followed by two bye weeks. One for the Hurricanes scheduled bye-week and one by the ACAA in case of game cancellations during the regular season.
This meant there was 20 days between their last regular season game, and their ACAA semi-final game against UNBSJ, March 1.
The large gap in the schedule didn’t seem to bother the Hurricanes, the first quarter had great back and forth action, but the Seawolves held a slight 16-15 lead.
The `Canes defense couldn’t keep up, and UNBSJ started to pull away, taking an eight-point lead into the fourth quarter.
The Hurricanes couldn’t comeback, and their season would end with a loss to the Seawolves in semi-final action.
“We were disappointed, it wasn’t what we envisioned. We just didn’t play to the level we had been playing at,” said Kendrick. “UNBSJ played great, I just felt we could have been better.”
Although the team didn’t achieve their goal of an ACAA championship, Kendrick felt good about the team’s season.
“For me, when you finish second overall but lose in the semi-final, did you achieve your goal of winning a championship? No, but you did achieve a lot,” he said. “I think it was a positive season, there were a lot of great things that happened, we want to win, but all that means is that we will be more keen to win it all next year if possible.”
Individually on the season, Bryce Corless was recognized by the CCAA as an All-Canadian, as well as a member of the ACAA’s first-team All-Conference team, while Aaron Simmons was named to the ACAA’s second All-Conference team.
Connect with the men’s basketball Hurricanes at and .
For more information on the 橘子视频 Hurricanes, visit , , and .
-30-
140 Weymouth Street, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada C1A 4Z1
Tel: 1-800-446-5265 | Fax: 902-629-4239