NANAIMO, B.C. – Senior forward James Hulbin and redshirt freshman guard Jalan West each poured in 18 points Tuesday night, with all of West's scoring coming on 3-pointers, leading Northwestern State to an 89-71 exhibition basketball victory over Vancouver Island University in the second of four games for the Demons on this week's Canadian tour.
 
West made half of his 12 3-point shots and added seven rebounds and seven assists. Senior guard Shamir Davis contributed 15 points, six assists and four steals while sophomore forward Marvin Frazier had 10 points, five rebounds and two blocked shots.
 
The Demons played late Wednesday night against Victoria Select, and will have a rematch with the same team in their final game north of the border Thursday evening.
 
In Tuesday's triumph, NSU opened a 29-21 first-quarter lead but VIU tightened it to 45-39 at halftime. The Demons outscored their hosts 30-14 in the third quarter to take command.
 
“We executed well offensively tonight,” said 14^th-year NSU coach Mike McConathy. “Our guard play was excellent, especially with Jalan and Shamir combined for a 13-1 assist-to-turnover ratio. I was really pleased with James Hulbin's contributions tonight and we hope to get him scoring more consistently.”
 
The VIU Mariners were led by a game-high 20 points from senior forward Greg Gillies, and 14 by guard Jon Bethell.

Brent Dunlop, the sports information director for Vancouver Island, said the home crowd enjoyed watching the Demons.

“It was a thrill for our basketball community to see your team in action,” he said.
 
Davis, interviewed postgame by Greg Sakaki of the Namaimo News Bulletin, said the Demons got a lot out of the contest.
“VIU was very good. They played very good, they had a good crowd, everyone came out and supported them,” said  Davis. “They gave us a good test early. We needed to run like this.

“Regardless of the opponent or the level of play, we still want to win, that's the main priority,” Davis said. “Any gym you go into, you want to win.”

Playing under international rules led to a more physical style of play than NSU typically encounters, which Davis said was beneficial.

“Canadian basketball, I love it. I really can't complain … this is great,” Davis said. “We really need this early because if we can play through this contact, we can play down the stretch.”

NSU opened its trip Sunday night with a 105-40 drubbing of Quest University's Kermodes.

Link for photos from the Namaimo News Bulletin: http://www.nanaimobulletin.com/sports/166312176.html
 
Statistics from the win over VIU:
 
NSU--James Hulbin 18 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists; Jalan West 18 points (6-12 3-point shooting), 7 assists, 7 rebounds; Shamir Davis 15 points, 6 assists, 4 steals; Marvin Frazier 10 points, 5 rebounds, 2 blocks; Patrick Robinson 7 points, 4 rebounds; O.J. Evans 6 points, 2 blocks; Gary Stewart 5 points, 3 assists, 2 rebounds; Gary Roberson 4 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist; Austin Adams  2 points, 1 rebound; Matt Killian 1 point 
 
VIU--Greg Gillies 20 points, Jon Bethell 14 points