Volcanoes implode in loss to that other Vancouver

Theo Evans couldn’t believe his eyes Saturday night. At least, he didn’t want to.

"Worst I’ve seen us play in two years," the Vancouver Volcanoes coach said following a 117-106 loss to the Vancouver (B.C.) Titans at Clark College.

"Our energy was down. We didn’t get loose balls. We missed layups. We were trying so hard that it almost worked against us; we just made more mistakes."

For the Volcanoes (14-7), the loss continued their skid in the International Basketball League standings. They have gone 2-4 over their past six games, after getting off to a 12-3 start.

That’s not the way they hoped to prepare for the postseason, which begins next week. The Volcanoes will open the 10-team IBL playoffs Thursday at the Monroe Sports Arena, home of the Snohomish Explosion. They likely will be the No. 3 or No. 4 seed.

The playoffs start Wednesday, with the top six seeds receiving a bye. The quarterfinals are Thursday, and the semifinals are Friday. The finalists will then meet July 18 at a site to be determined.

On Saturday, the Volcanoes were doomed by the performance of the Titans’ Casey Archibald, who scored 31 points on 10-of-19 shooting, including 6 of 10 from 3-point range.

The Volcanoes built a 54-47 halftime lead behind 10 points apiece from Clifford White and Alex Hartman. But the second half belonged to Archibald, a former University of British Columbia star who recently returned from playing in Austria.

"We made a lot of mistakes in the first half, with 15 turnovers," Archibald said. "That’s too many for a game.

"The second half, we took care of ball and hit some shots."

After facing an early first-quarter deficit, the Volcanoes made a run behind back-to-back alley-oop dunks from Alex Hartman on assists by Kevin Bloodsaw.

A streak of three 3-pointers by DeWayne Morris helped create the halftime cushion, but the second half was all Titans, who finished 17 of 32 from 3-point range while the Volcanoes went 6 of 28.

White and Hartman finished with 16 points apiece to lead the Volcanoes. Bloodsaw added 15 points, and Bryson McKenzie had 14 points and 10 rebounds. Kevin Tyner added 12 points and a team-high 11 assists.