Despite having just two returners, 13 new players and a new head coach, the Briercrest College Clippers men's basketball team looked strong in their first games together last weekend.

The Clippers hit the road to Winnipeg where they played three exhibition games as part of a tournament, coming out with a 3-0 record from the weekend.

"It was a positive start to the season, it was just nice after four weeks of practice to play somebody else," said Clippers first-year head coach Shane Sowden. "We didn't know what to expect, mostly just focused on what we could control, doing our best, and we were able to come out with three wins."

It's a season of transition for the Clippers with a big turnover on their roster and Sowden taking over as head coach, so to have the success that they did in their first games together was a big positive for the squad.

"It's basically a clean-slate, brought in 13 brand-new guys and just two returners," said Sowden. "The fun thing about the weekend was that it wasn't just one or two guys doing it for us, it was a team effort and we're hoping to have an exciting year."

The Clippers opened the tournament with a 77-71 win over the Providence University College Pilots on Thursday. Shayne Foster paced the Clippers in the win with 20 points and 16 rebounds, while Matt Blackaby had seven points, 10 rebounds, and two assists.

On Friday, the Clippers secured an 81-72 victory over the Red River College Rebels. CJ Greer had 19 points and nine rebounds in the win, while Foster picked up his second double-double of the tournament with 15 points and 11 rebounds.

The Clippers finished the weekend with a commanding 75-51 win over the Canadian Mennonite University Blazers on Saturday. Foster finished off his strong opening weekend with 19 points and nine rebounds. Greer picked up 12 points, while Blackaby and Aaron Adrian picked up 10 points each in the win.

Sowden said their play on the defensive side of the ball was the biggest thing that they'll look to take away from the tournament.

"We're small, we're quick, so the guys have really bought in early in the season to our defensive philosophy and honestly that kept us in a couple of games that we were able to squeak out in the end," said Sowden. "The guys know that if we can control our effort and attitude on defence and do that consistently, we'll find ourselves in some games that we’re not expected to be in."

The Clippers will return to the court on Thursday and Friday against the Lakeland Rustlers for two more exhibition games before they open the regular season next weekend.

The Briercrest Clippers women's basketball also had three exhibition games last week, going 1-2. They beat Grand Prairie Regional College, 64-42, and lost to NAIT, 71-63, and Keyano College, 86-64.

They're on the road in Red Deer this week for the Thanksgiving Classic Preseason Tournament, taking on SAIT on Thursday, Okanagan on Friday and the host Red Deer College Queens on Saturday.

The Clippers men's hockey team opens its regular season this weekend when they welcome the Grant McEwen University Griffins into the Barkman Arena for games on Friday, 7 p.m., and Saturday, 2 p.m.

On the volleyball court, the Clippers men's and women's teams will open their seasons next weekend in Calgary against the SAIT Trojans.