Providence Pilots tip off MCAC basketball season

The Providence Pilots basketball teams are off to a winning start in the new-look Manitoba Colleges Athletic Conference.

With the return of Red River College to the league, Providence, Canadian Mennonite University and St Boniface College have left the Northern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference to focus solely on provincial play this season.

The league is expected to send their champion to the Canadian Colleges Athletic Association national championships next season.

The Pilots men’s team split a pair of games with the St Boniface Les Rouges, with both teams winning their respective home openers. Providence is playing their basketball games back on campus this season after a few years at the Niverville Resource and Rec Centre.

“We were very, very excited to get going at home,” head coach Pierre Dubreuil said.

“It’s been way, way, way too long for us not being in our gym, not being in our facility in front of our friends. We’re absolutely thrilled to be back, thrilled to get the first win at home.”

The college invested thousands of dollars into a new gym floor, with better shock absorbing in in preparation for volleyball and basketball to return. Dubreuil said the Pilots now boast the best basketball facility in the MCAC.

In game action, the Pilots are leaning heavily on fifth-year centre Emmanuel Oleko to lead the line, especially in the front court. Oleko was the only Providence player in the starting line-up who stands over 6’1.

The 6’7 Paris, France, product was a dominant force for the Pilots in their home opener victory, picking up 13 rebounds and 20 points in the win on an efficiency 7/12 from the field.

“In size, in physicality, in ability to play at the rim, he’s definitely a key piece for us,” Dubreuil said.

“We want to be the most physical team without over-fouling.”

Dubreuil said he emphasized the importance of defensive rebounds after a six-point opening night loss in St Boniface, and his team responded, only allowing a pair of offensive rebounds in the first half.

St Boniface stormed back into the game, even taking a late 66-63 lead, but freshman Kendal Webster hit a big three to tie the game again, before a late surge led to a Providence win.

The women’s side of the MCAC basketball standings has been established quickly, with CMU sweeping Red River in a pair of incredibly lopsided games (114-14, 99-19), and Providence taking care of St Boniface with a 30-point blowout in St Boniface and a closer eight-point victory the next night in Otterburne.

The Pilots take on Red River Nov. 20 in Otterburne.