With a combined 1-9 record in the Pacwest basketball season, the Camosun Chargers can use a little home cooking tonight in their first home games of the season.
To date, results have been hard to stomach for both the 1-4 women's team and the winless men's team who face the Vancouver Island University Mariners at 6 and 8 p.m. respectively at the Pacific Institute for Sport Excellence.
"It's been a tough start, to say the least," said men's coach Scot Cuachon, who lost one of his best athletes, Kevin Transchel, to a knee injury. "He dove for a rebound and somebody fell on his leg - as is life."
More weight has fallen on the club as it continues to look for its first win of the season. It doesn't get any easier either as the 0-5 Chargers face the 4-1 Mariners.
"They've got a lot better. So have we, we're going the right way, but I guess it depends which team has got better, faster," said Cuachon.
"I'd love to see us focused on one possession at a time, winning one thing at a time, and the rest will sort itself out."
Finally being able to play at home and having Saturday off should have its advantages for the club, which will see James Giuf-fre picking up minutes and Rulon Schmidt, who had micro-fracture surgery, back for his first game.
"That's the way it should work out," Cuachon said of home floor advantage. "We're hoping so."
Fan support would go a long way to getting some backing right from the opening tip-off.
"We've had struggles early in games, and quarters, getting off to good, quick starts and we need to roll out of the gate if we want a chance to win it," said Cuachon, whose last-place Chargers are coming off 86-80 and 86-74 losses to Capilano and Quest universities last weekend, respectively.
Brett Westcott's women's team is 1-4 this season and looking to claw its way out of the second-last position in the Pacwest.
"We had opportunities to win three of those; we just didn't secure it," said Westcott, who suggested the team sabotaged itself with crucial errors in the defeats.
"People say we're young, but that's not an excuse you want to use," he added. "We have to show that we've learned lessons from the first five games. They have to realize how hard they have to play. Play harder for longer."
The only win of the season for Westcott's Chargers came over 2-3 Langara College. The Chargers lost the services of Haley Carmichael and Julia Murray to injury early, although both depth players could be back tonight against the 2-3 Mariners.
Camosun lost 65-45 to Capilano last Friday after a sluggish second quarter cost the team the game, and also lost 69-64 to Quest.
Like the men, the women's team has been on the road for all five, but play the next three at home.
"Our hope is we can get back to .500 after these next two weekends," said Westcott.
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