UBC Okanagan Heat's basketball teams both face a tall order as the Canada West regular season comes to a close this weekend.
The Heat women and women—each in search of a playoff spot in the Explorer Division—will be in Kamloops for two games against the Thompson Rivers Wolfpack.
Currently a game out of the third and final postseason berth, the Heat women (10-8) will need a pair of wins over the 'Pack (13-5), combined with third-place Fraser Valley (11-7) losing twice at Mount Royal (2-16).
It's a similar scenario for the men who will need a pair of wins over first-place TRU (14-4), then will have to have some help from other teams to get in.
MacEwan sits in the third and final spot at 9-9, while Mount Royal and UBCO are tied for fourth at 8-10.
MacEwan will host UNBC this weekend, while Mount Royal faces Fraser Valley.
The Heat's playoff aspirations took a hit last weekend as both the women and men were swept at home by the MacEwan Griffins.
In women's action Friday, MacEwan bettered UBCO 68-48. Emily Kanester and Claire Elliott scored 14 and 10 points respectively for the Heat.
On Saturday, Megan Wood took charge with 32 points to lead the Griffins.
The Heat, which shot just 25 per cent from the field, was led by Chloe Kennedy with 11 points.
Even if neither Heat team makes the postseason, both have established new school records for CIS wins in a season.
On the men's side, MacEwan prevailed 66-59 on Friday night. Cameron Servatius led the Heat with 16 points, while Mitch Goodwin added 14.
On Saturday, the Heat was outscored 24-12 in the fourth quarter in a 71-62 loss to the Griffins.
Aldrich Berrios and Cam Friesen had 16 points each for the Heat, whose chances of a playoff spot narrowed with the two defeats.
"We’re not executing on both ends of the floor well enough to win these games against the top half of our division," said Heat coach Pete Guarasci.