In the opening round: …………………………………………………… The 15th-seeded Richmond Hugh McRoberts Spartans whipped the Quesnel Spartans 86-63 as Graeme Poole scored 27. Al Crain paced the Spartans with 29 on 14-21 from the floor and 14 boards. Pardeep Sunner added 10 and Bob Schilling 9. Quesnel led 21-19 after one quarter. But McRoberts didn’t panic and outscored their opponents 24-8 in the second to put the outcome out of reach. “When we are up, we can be just amazing, and when we are down, we are ordinary,” Poole told the Vancouver Province. Quesnel point guard Dan Pontius picked up his third foul early in the second quarter with Quesnel leading 21-19. McRoberts promply implemented a press and forced a raft of turnovers. Game over. Quesnel coach Ed Nielson told the Cariboo Observor that “losing Dan early really hurt us. When he wasn’t on the floor, it took us right out of our offensive sync. We struggled under their pressure and we turned the ball over an astronomical amount of times.” McRoberts led 43-29 at the half and 67-41 after three quarters. Quesnel (coached by Ed Nielsen, assisted by Dagin Brackett) also included Tim Pickett, Brent Manning. …………………………………………………… The 13th-seeded Coquitlam Centennial Centaurs dumped the Cranbrook Mount Baker Trojans 91-58 as centre Steve Tetreau scored 26 on 10-18 from the field, 14 boards and 8 blocks. Scott Hammond paced the Trojans with 16. …………………………………………………… The 14th-seeded New Westminster Hyacks whipped the Terrace Caledonia Kermodes 82-61 as Adam Nicholson scored 28 and Herman Dhillon scored 26. Braden Meashaw led the Kermodes with 15. The Kermodes (coached by Cam MacKay) also included Christian Desierto, Kevin Gillanders. …………………………………………………… The 16th-seeded Clearbrook Mennonite Educational Institute Eagles defeated the Victoria Spectrum Thunder 62-52 as Brian Redekop scored 27. The Thunder (coached by Gord Thatcher, assistants Grant Boland, Rich Avery and Tony Fogeklou, managers Kristy Craig and Marianne Cusodio included Jason Tiffin, Mike Tran, Craig Blaikie, Brandon Meyer, Craig Stuart, T.J. Johal, Brad Gemell, Rob Pringle, Jason Dheri, Mike Nguyen and Matt Jensen.
In the second round: …………………………………………………… The top-seeded Richmond Colts clipped the 16th-seeded Clearbrook Mennonite Educational Institute Eagles 83-60 despite trailing 25-13 after one quarter as scoring leader Rick Pridmore picked up two quick fouls and was benched. But guard Atnas Maeko hit 18 points in the first half as Richmond rallied to within 39-35 at the half and then romped. “We were tight (early on) and we were rushing everything – I don’t know what it was,” Richmond point guard Karlo Villanueva told the Vancouver Province. “As the game went on, we got more comfortable. Our goal is to play Colt basketball all game and we didn’t do that tonight.” The Eagles were deadly from the floor as they took a 39-35 at the half. But the Colts answered with a 13-2 run to take command. They then reeled off a 16-3 run in the fourth to go up 76-53 and put the Eagles out of their misery. Maeko finished with 27 points and 11 boards. MEI led 25-13 after one quarter and 39-35 at the half. The Colts led 54-45 after three quarters. Colts coach Bill Drisbow told the Abbotsford News that “I was scared coming in. The Valley is always tough. MEI is very well coached. Arnie has his team the most ready at this time of year. … The kids were a bit disappointed with the job they did on defence in the first half. In the second half, we played defence alright.” Eagles coach Arnie Dick said “their defence stepped up and we couldn’t get any good looks at the hoop. That’s a very strong athletic team. They are the favorites and we gave them a scare.” Dick told Canadian Press that “they thought they had a chance. We knew that the second 20 minutes was going to be tougher. Richmond stepped it up and we didn’t.” Todd Bohn led the Eagles with 18. Brian Redekopp added 17. The Eagles (coached by Arnie Dick) also included Steve Dueck, Neufeld. …………………………………………………… The 2nd-seeded Surrey White Rock Christian Academy Warriors edged the 15th-seeded Richmond Hugh McRoberts Strikers 72-66. White Rock Christian had 42-31 lead at the half on McRoberts, but the Strikers went on a 14-4 run at the start of the third to cut the margin to one. They tied the score at 64 with 4:40 to play on a Greg Lee lay-up. But White Rock Christian only allowed two free throws while closing out the affair with an 8.2 run. Kyle Wilson and Chad Clifford each scored 20 points. Clifford also grabbed 13 boards. “That’s my role on the team – rebounding,” he told the Province. “But I don’t think we came into this game as mentally prepared as we should be. We can play better.” The Strikers (coached by Chris Kennedy) included Graeme Poole, David Foreman, Greg Lee, Scott Turner. …………………………………………………… The 3rd-seeded Victoria St. Michaels University Blue Devils dumped the 14th-seeded New Westminster Hyacks 62-52. The Blue Devils showed off poor shot selection against the Hyacks and were up only 54-50 when Adam Nicholson tallied for the underdogs with 1:14 to go. The Hyacks could only foul after that and SMU made their tries from the stripe to put the game away. The Hyacks also included Herman Dhillon. …………………………………………………… The North Surrey Spartans stunned the Vancouver St. George’s Saints 77-56 as grade 12 guard Visial Persaud scored 30 on 8-12 from the arc. Persaud hit 10-of-17 shooting from the field overall and also had five rebounds, three assists and a steal in North Surrey’s first game in the tournament since 1985. Carl Ulmer added 15, along with 10 boards, David Cho 9, while Kendal James nabbed 8 boards. The Huskies led 27-8 after one quarter. Persaud told the Surrey Leader “I couldn’t believe it. I just thought I would keep shooting until they stopped going in. It was like I blacked out. I was in a zone.” Huskies coach Murray MacDonald said when Persaud “gets a rhythm going, he’s unstoppable. He gets it up so quick and so hard, it’s in. and it’s not because he’s getting hot. If they leave him open, he’s going to hit it.” The Saints (coached by Laurier Primeau, Mark Van Der Zalm and David Heel) included Tim Keung, Matt Vedal, Tik Maynard, Tim Grant, Josh Pape, Gabe Becher, Stan McKeen, Fabian Leitner, Mark Blackman, Graeme Scott, Simon Faber and Craig Rollins. …………………………………………………… The Langley Brookswood Bobcats defeated the Ladysmith 49ers 63-55 as Tom Grozier scored 23, including 6-6 from the arc. James Kenyon added 18. Bobcats coach Mark Tamblyn told the Langley Advance “we felt confident. We felt it was just a matter of time. … Tyler (Morton) played very aggressively (on 6-7 post Mark Redekop) and he was our unsung hero.” Mark Gillrie scored 4 for the 49ers. The 49ers (coached by Randy Steele) also included Jeremy McCulloch, Dave Neufeld, Zane Teh. …………………………………………………… The Vancouver Lord Byng Grey Ghosts defeated the Langley Walnut Grove Gators 63-55 as Joness Lang scored 14, Paxson Tang 12 and Fraser Taylor-Mitchell 11. The Gators (coached by George Kozlovic) included Brent Sedo, Logan Kitteringham, Rich Williscroft, Gracjan Nowakowski, Matt Baillet, John Bright. …………………………………………………… The 13th-seeded Coquitlam Centennial Centaurs defeated the 4th-seeded Vernon Clarence Fulton Maroons 80-61 as 6-8 centre Steve Tetreau scored 33 on 13-21 from the floor, while nabbing 18 boards. Sandy Brar led the Maroons with 18. Charles Kramer added 9. The Maroons (coached by Bill Shannon) included Bobby Shannon, Wayne Sasges, Ehren Lee, Chris Rands, Aaron Hudolkin. Shannon told the Vernon Morning Star that “we only shot 31% against Centennial and a lot of that was their defensive pressure and size and that took a lot out of us.” The score was knotted at 18 afte one quarter. The Centaurs led 41-31 at the half. …………………………………………………… The Comox Highland Raiders defeated North Vancouver Carson Graham Eagles 70-61 despite 33 points from grade 11 6-6 forward Brent Charlton. The Raiders shot 27-48 (.563) from the field.
In the quarterfinals, the top-seeded Richmond Colts whipped the Langley Brookswood Bobcats 93-53. Jay Lee and Karlo Villanueva each scored 17 to lead the Colts. The Colts shot 20-40 from the floor and led 51-33 at the half. “It was a very good offensive performance, but I was just as pleased with our defence,” Colts coach Bill Disbrow told the Vancouver Sun. “Holding a very good team like Brookswood to 53 points is a credit to our all-round game. Atnas Makeo did a great job on [Brookswood’s 6’4” forward] James Kenyon [who scored a sub-par 12 points] and Karlo and Zach Russell kept [guard] Tom Grozier in check. All things considered, that was probably our best all-round performance of the season.” Grozier, who scored 8, said the Bobcats couldn’t match the Colts’ speed and shooting accuracy. “They’re very quick and when they shoot well, as they did tonight, it’s tough to stop them. I think Richmond is beatable, but you’ve got to run and shoot with them and play tough defence. We didn’t tonight.” Neil Bright paced Brookswood with 13. The Bobcats (coached by Mark Tamblyn, assisted by Larry Goldsack) also included Jeremy Allingham, Ryan Boyce, Takashi Chijiwa, Bryce Craig, Matt Creechan, Tom Grozier, James Kenyon, Daryl MacDonald, Tom McGregor, Tyler Morton, Greg Paton, Daniel Rossnagel and Brian Spear.
The Coquitlam Centennial Centaurs clipped the Vancouver Lord Byng Grey Ghosts 68-53 as Mike Leslie scored 26. Ian Mitchell paced the Grey Ghosts with 15.
The Surrey White Rock Christian Warriors defeated the 10th-seeded Comox Highland Raiders 57-33. The Warriors swarming defence held the Raiders to a .235 effort (12-for-51) from the field and 1-17 (.059) from the arc. Kyle Wilson led the Warriors with 25. Scott MacKinnon paced the Raiders with 9. “We believe that God is guiding us through this tournament, and as it gets better, we really rely on Him,” Warriors coach Scott Allen told the Vancouver Sun. “The power of higher authority is definitely with us. … I was as pleased with our defence as our offence tonight. I mean, we held Highland to 33 points.” Wilson said “we’re playing with confidence, teamwork and good defence. It was important to get our first game out of the way because we proved to ourselves that we can play at this level, in this situation. We’re totally focused on what we have to do to win now.” The Raiders (coached by Colin Tinga and Paul Tomsen) also included Bill Neumann, Kerry Westmore.
In the last quarterfinal, the Victoria St. Michaels University Blue Devils defeated the North Surrey Spartans 69-67 as Danny Boticki scored 21, Jon Gainor 16 and Richard Greenwood 13. Boticki ripped down a “huge” rebound down the stretch, while Mike Wighton drained a trey and notched a steal, as the Blue Devils pulled out the win, said St. Michaels coach Ian Hyde-Lay. The Spartans (coached by Murray McDonald) included Visial Persaud, Pat Sampson, Reggie Alano.
In the semis, the Surrey White Rock Christian Warriors defeated the Victoria St. Michaels University Blue Devils 64-60 as post Chad Clifford scored 23 and point guard Kyle Wilson 22. “We’ve been resilient. We’ve kind of hung around and got some big plays when we needed them,” coach Ian Hyde-Lay said. Boticki noted “this has been a great experience, I love these guys a lot, without the kind of team we have we wouldn’t have gotten as far as we have.”
In the other semi, Coquitlam Centennial Centaurs, the largest public secondary school in the province, defeated the defending champion Richmond Colts 76-66. It was the Colts first loss to B.C. opposition during the season. Centennial held 24-12, 42-26 and 63-46 leads after the quarters and never let the Colts fast-break get on track. Grade 12 guard and player of the game Shaun Rensen paced the Centaurs with 25 points, five assists, five forced turnovers, four steals and one block. Mike Leslie added 14, Nick Hsu 13 and 6-8 centre Steve Tetreau 15. “We wanted to control the tempo of the game and take our chances when we could,” Centaurs coach Steve Pettifer told the Vancouver Sun. “We didn’t want to get into a transition, run-and-gun game with Richmond because we don’t have quite the same speed. We wanted to play a half-court game against them, keep the pressure on defensively, and look for the breaks. And for the most part we did.” Atnas Maeko paced the Colts with 33 points. Centre Rick Pridmore added 17, while point guard Karlo Villanueva only scored 4. Pettifer said that “you’ve got to have great guards playing against Richmond. If you lose the backcourt game to them, you’re also going to lose on the scoreboard, more times than not. Our three guards were just outstanding tonight. I can’t say enough about them.” Richmond trailed by as many as 17 points in the second half. Colts coach Bill Drisbow told the Richmond Review that “they did an outstanding job. They were very well prepared and came out with no fear. They believed in themselves while most teams that played us haven’t. … Maybe I showed a little too much faith early (keeping the starting five on the floor). But I wanted to let the guys work it out on their own. I still had faith in them in the second half that we would be able to come back and win.” Centaurs coach Steve Pettifer said “the big thing for us is that we were able to play at our tempo. We took chances where we could and scored off their pressure. It was important for us to get the lead early because we felt we could play better with the lead. They’d been the number one ranked team all year and we came in here with nothing to lose.”
In the bronze medal match, the top-seeded Richmond Colts defeated the Victoria St. Michaels University Blue Devils 64-62 as Karlo Villanueva and Atnas Maeko each scored 14. Jon Gainor led St. Michaels with 24. The Blue Devils (coached by Ian Hyde-Lay, assisted by Bill Greenwell, manager Tom Wang) also included Danny Boticki, Mike Wighton, Richard Greenwood, Cam Clark, Mike Wighton, Jason Reeve, Rob Danard, Ben Corns, Josh Lam, Dave Weir, John Kari, Eric Findlay, Ernest Chiu, Scott Brown, redshirt Laurney Tomsin and redshirt Sandy Lort.
In the final, the Surrey White Rock Christian Warriors, the god-fearing ‘The Little School that Could’, with an enrolment of a mere 284, including 48 boys from grades 8 to 12, defeated the Coquitlam Centennial Centaurs 72-62 before a sellout crowd of 5,404 to earn the Warriors their first AAA crown in only their second year of play at the province’s highest level of basketball. They’d earned a pair of A titles in 1996 and 1997. The Centaurs appeared to tire down the stretch, coach Steve Pettifer told the Vancouver Sun. “We have a lot of character kids, guys who I would have been proud to play with in my high school years. But fatigue was definitely a major factor for us tonight. We kept it close for three quarters, then ran out of gas. I was very proud of my team. But these kids are only human, after all.” White Rock Christian led 21-7 after one quarter, trailed 40-32 at the half and led 55-50 after three quarters. Grade 10 guard Kyle Wilson hit three unanswered field goals early in the fourth quarter to put the game out of reach, including a slashing coast-to-coast drive on which he was fouled and hit the ensuing free throw. The Warriors moved ahead 64-50 and never looked back. “We don’t coach that kind of basketball,” said White Rock coach Scott Allen. “Kyle is just his own player and comes up with plays like that on a regular basis. He thinks he’s (Indiana Pacer) Reggie Miller. The tighter the situation, the better he plays.” The 15-year-old Wilson, who scored 14 of his 24 points in the second half, noted that “I didn’t have a very good first half and had to make it up to my teammates. I was really intense in the second half and just got lucky, I guess. I was a little nervous at the start of the game.” Warrior 6-5 forward Chad Clifford was chosen tournament MVP after scoring 27 and helping hold rangy 6-8 Centaur center Steve Tetreau, who was chosen defensive player of the tournament, to only 11 points, 12 off his tournament average. Guard Shaun Rosen led Centennial with 16 points. Mike Leslie added 15 and Nick Hsu 12. “Guarding Tetreau was my defensive assignment,” said Clifford. “Coach told me to guard him tight and I went all out. Defence wins championships. We played tough defence on Tetreau and made Centennial go with their outside shots. We didn’t feel they could hit outside consistently.” White Rock finished the season with a (40-6) record. Coach Scott Allen said that the Centennial Centaurs’ upset of the Richmond Colts on Friday aided White Rock Christian’s demeanor. “For … our guys, it did (help),” said coach Scott Allen. “All of the sudden, the championship became available.” The White Rock Christian players and coaches all said that God played a role in the victory. “It’s just hard work and — I don’t want to get religious on you – – but I say God had something to do with it,” White Rock Christian assistant coach Pete Hodson told the Province. “I can’t explain it otherwise. Was it hard work? Centennial worked hard. Why did a school of 248 win it? I have to say, God.” Hodson also said Wilson was the real deal. “I don’t want to compare him to anybody because that’s been done so many times – to Steve Nash, to Jordie McTavish, to so on and so on. I will say that he will be a legitimate NCAA Div. 1 player. He’s got something special … the kid goes on the floor and he takes over. And he’s in Grade 10. It doesn’t make any sense.” Wilson scored seven straight points in the fourth quarter, taking his team from a catchable 57-50 margin to an insurmountable 64-50 lead. “I did feel pressure, but I actually love pressure because I do like being a hero sometimes,” said the 6-0 Wilson. “I love the pressure. I love the fans.” White Rock Christian coach Scott Allen added: “He’s not Kyle Wilson; he’s Reggie Miller. He wants the game to be close. It’s almost like he’ll give baskets up so the game will be close and he can win it at the end.”
The bronze medalist Richmond Colts: Atnas Maeko; Karlo Villanueva; Rick Pridmore; Brian Host; Zach Russell; Russell Neal; Jason Birring; Tyler Nakaniski; Jay Lee; Jeremy Billan; Roger Wei; Igor Pekarsky; coach Bill Drisbow, assistant John Kavelec
The silver medalist Coquitlam Centennial Centaurs: Steve Tetreau; Shaun Rosen; Mike Leslie; Nick Hsu; Shane Rensen; Chris Storin; Nick Hsu; coach Steve Pettifer
The gold medalist Surrey White Rock Christian Warriors: Chad Clifford; Kyle Wilson; Marque Douglas; Nathan Walton; Rodney Pennington; Adam Balkwill; coach Steve Allen