In the opening round: …………………………………………………… The Penticton Lakers rallied to nip the Richmond Matthew McNair Marlins 77-74, winning on a pair of free throws in the final three seconds. The Lakers scraped and clawed to the win. “We have had a couple of situations like that during the year, so we’re kind of used to it,” Lakers guard Matt Defehr told the Vancouver Province. “And all the guys really believe in each other.” The Lakers, in the tournament for the first time since 1987, trailed 43-27 in the second quarter and looked to be finished. But they began hitting from the arc and took the lead for a time, but seemed to be done for in the waning seconds as Curtis Augustus’s layup with 8.9 seconds left gave Richmond’s McNair the lead, 74-73. Penticton raced back down the floor, only to have Dustin Hyde’s layup attempt whistled by an Augustus foul with 2.8 clicks on the clock. After a couple of McNair timeouts and substitutions to rattle his nerves, Hyde stepped to the line and calmly canned both his free throws to put his team on top for good. McNair turned the ball over on their ensuing possession, and Penticton’s Ryan Speijer notched another couple free throws as insurance. “I knew that I was going to make them,” said Hyde, who similarly sank a couple of foul shots with eight seconds. “It was a little frustrating waiting, with the timeouts and the subs, but I still knew that I was going to make them.” S. Cowles and N. Defehr each scored 16 to lead the Lakers. Lakers coach Brad Findlay told the Vancouver Sun that “we thought we were justified in being here. We deserved to be here. The [Okanagan) Valley was a real dogfight this year. And any one of four teams could be here.” Curtis Augustus and T. Chen each scored 23 to pace McNair. The Marlins (coached by Paul Eberhardt) also included John De La Torre. …………………………………………………… The Abbotsford Yale Lions opened with a 22-12 run and coasted to a 91-55 triumph over Cranbrook’s Mount Baker Trojans. Player of the game Adam Friesen led the Lions with 44 (42 according to the Abbotsford News). Matt Vandermaalen added 8 and Mike Ivany 8. Lion Jeff Payne told the Abbotsford news that “we were really excited and it showed that we were nervous at the start.” The Lins led 48-25 at the half. A. Shaw paced the Trojans with 15. The Trojans (coached by Greg Colburn) also included John Bain. …………………………………………………… The Vancouver Kitsilano Blue Demons overcame a 13-point, first-quarter deficit to defeat the Terrace Caledonia Kermodes 79-67. Sattar Ibrahim led Kitsilano with 28 and Justin Mensah-Coker 23. Braden Meashaw paced the Kermodes with 21. The Kermodes (coached by Cam MacKay, assisted by Wade Loukes) also included Tristan Brown, Wade Loukes, Kevin Braam, Doug Burnlp, Rob Haugland, Ivan Filippini, Derek Matthews, Sukh Dhaliwhal, Ricky Dhaliwhal, Jason Klein, Christian Deslerto, Kyle Stephens and Billy Wells. …………………………………………………… The Saanichton Stelly’s Stingers dumped the Prince George Polars 84-62. Nate Ashmead led Stelly’s with 29. Russ McLeod paced the Polars with 20. The Polars (coached by Phil McLeod) also included Jason Nesdoy, Kyle Terry, Neil Perk.
In the second round: …………………………………………………… The 4th-seeded Victoria Oak Bay Bays edged the Vancouver Kitsilano Blue Demons 74-68 after struggling to find a comfortable rhythm. “Kits did a good job on us of not letting us get into our running game,” game MVP Chris Trumpy, who scored 23, told the Victoria Times-Colonist. “We like to run it, force turnovers and get the ball down the floor. But they got back on defence and that (half-court game) is not really our style.” The Blue Demons twice whittled 20-point Bays leads to single digits as Chris Porteous (21 points) and Sattar Ibrahim (12) repeatedly forced turnovers. Anthony Beer added 14 for Oak Bay with Simon Straith chipping in 13. “We built a bit of a lead and Kitsilano pressured us and we didn’t respond,” said Oak Bay coach Graham Taylor. “We let the pressure get to us.” Despite a 16-3 run to start the second half – which established a 51-31 Oak Bay lead – Kits rallied to pull to within four points at 69-65 in the final minute. Kits fouled Oak Bay’s Eric Rushton who hit two key free throws to make it 71-65, and seemingly iced the win with 32 seconds left. But Porteous hit a huge three-pointer with 19 seconds on the clock to make it interesting. Trumpy then killed the rally by hitting two free throws on the next trip down the floor. Still Taylor cut to the bottom line: “If we don’t play better tomorrow it will be a long night.” Trumpy said “I think we had to get the first-game jinx out, I guess. None of us have ever been here before and most of us were kind of nervous, so hopefully we can get back and get it together for tomorrow. We kind of consider ourselves underdogs. So we’ll let them think that and we’ll get focused and see what happens.” …………………………………………………… The defending champion 11th-seeded Surrey White Rock Christian Warriors, playing without 16-year-old star guard Kyle Wilson, defeated the 6th-seeded Nanaimo Wellington Wildcats 69-63 as Adam Balkwill scored 18. Dustin Call added 14 and Zach Hogan 13. Shortly before the tourney, Wilson was suspended from the school for two weeks, for getting his girlfriend pregnant. White Rock Christian students sign an agreement regarding behaviour on several issues, including premarital sex. Wilson declined comment. White Rock Christian principal Steve Paras told the Vancouver Sun “boy, how can I say this wisely? I believe that’s the reason for his suspension, yes. We’re trying to protect Kyle as much as possible in this situation. The bottom line is that for the kids on our basketball team, Kyle isn’t eligible to play for the next two weeks.” Wilson’s mother, Caroll Wilson, who is employed as a bookkeeper at the school, said: “We stand with the school on this decision. We know we’re in a Christian school to help develop values and character in the students. He broke school rules. Kyle’s character and values are more important to us than basketball. I love my son too much to put basketball ahead of character and values.” Paras said students who enroll at White Rock Christian Academy are required to sign a `standard of conduct’ agreement that covers a number of issues both inside and outside of the school. “We try to create a culture or a subculture in the school that is consistent with our philosophy as a Christian school,” he said. “We say this is who we are as a school and if you’re going to come here you have to believe that that is what you have to embrace.” Warriors’ coach Scott Allen said “I think it’s the right thing to do – basketball is secondary to what we believe in. I feel a little bit of disappointment for Kyle over the whole circumstances. This puts basketball as a very secondary issue. But everyone seems to be looking at this very positively. Two of the best things to come out of this is that Kyle will be back next year and that his experience with this situation will pay dividends for our school and our program.” Student concurred. “We support the decision of the school,” said Sam Emerson, a Grade 11 who works with the basketball team, told the Vancouver Province. Added Grade 11 Katherine Schmitz: “It’s fair. Everyone knows the rules and if you want to come to this school you abide by the rules.” Wilson, a Grade 11, often has been compared to Steve Nash and was a main reason why the Warriors won the Triple A title last year. He was voted an all-star at the tournament. White Rock Christian Warriors coach Scott Allen refused to elaborate on why Wilson, a guard dubbed the “next Steve Nash” by some coaches, won’t be suiting up. “It’s strange, but it will have to bring the team together,” said Allen. “We will have to be a different team.” Paul Marr led Wellington with 29. Bobby Fletcher added 17. The Warriors rallied from an eight-point, third-quarter deficit, which picking up 22 offensive boards, compared to 20 defensive ones for the Wildcats. They shot just 19 per cent from three-point range and 54 per cent from the foul line. “Yeah, we were nervous because we are still used to playing with Kyle and this is a big-time change for us,” Balkwill told the Vancouver Province. “I do think we are coming together as a team. We’re moving the ball and we’re getting everybody involved and I think our guards, Rodney (Pennington) and Dustin (Cal), are just going to keep getting better and better. We were nervous when were down eight, but we really picked it up. We thought that we didn’t want to go home already. We didn’t want to be done. We want to get to the final four — that’s our goal.” White Rock trailed 40-32 midway through the third quarter and were having trouble stopping Marr. But they tightened up their defence on him after that — Marr went six straight possessions without touching the ball and connected for just two more field goals the rest of the way — and also began hitting their own shots, highlighted by a 14-4 run that gave them a 59-50 lead. Wilson’s cousin Dustin Cal led down the stretch, scoring 9 of his 14 points in the final quarter. “I’m not trying to replace Kyle,” Cal said. “I’m just going in there and trying to help my team out. I have no pressure on me. … the whole team will have to pick up for Kyle.” Marr added: “I had never seen them with Wilson, so I don’t know what the difference was. … We went a little easy on the defensive boards a couple times and they took advantage of it.” Marr noted that “I had never seen them with Wilson, so I don’t know what the difference was. … we went a little easy on the defensive boards a couple times and they took advantage of it.” Warriors coach Scott Allen said “the most difficult thing was changing the boys’ roles without having any games to see how the players would respond. I’m really proud of the character they showed. We shot awful today and were still able to pull it out. This group of guys is close anyway, but the situation brought these kids, and the school, even closer together. They’ve turned a sad situation into a positive. They decided there’s no use dwelling on the negative.” Wellington coach Phil Letham told the Nanaimo Daily News that “we didn’t execute well on offence at all. It wasn’t their offence, it was our lack of offensce. We just couldn’t get scoring when we needed. We weren’t moving, we didn’t have th emotion we usually do. Guys were passing and standing and weren’t cutting to the hoop. … They really go the offensive glass hard and they beat us up on the boards.” The Wildcats (coached by Letham) also included David Russell, John Tran, Mark Johnson, Bryan Dumesnil. …………………………………………………… The 3rd-seeded North Vancouver Carson Graham Eagles defeated the Saanichton Stelly’s Stingers 80-69. Fred Winters led the Eagles with 24, despite sitting most of the first half with three quick fouls. Brent Charleton added 19. Nate Ashmead paced the Stingers with 23. Chris McKay added 19. Charleton told the Province that everyone had the jitters. “It’s different than anything you play in all year. You’ve got the atmosphere and you’ve got the fans. You’ve got people from all over the province watching you. It’s nice to get the first game out of the way.” The Stingers (coached by Dave Tooby, assisted by Joe Milligan) also included Chris Spoor, Dan Antonik, Matt Paquette. …………………………………………………… The top-seeded Richmond Colts dumped the Abbotsford Yale Lions 92-72. The Colts outscored their opponents 36-19 in the second quarter and forced 23 turnovers, while hitting 9-16 from the arc. Point guard Karlo Villanueva had 11 steals. The Colts led 26-18 after one quarter and 62-37 at the half. Adam Friesen paced the Lions with 23. Geoff Dodson added 13. The Lions (coached by Al Friesen, assisted by Bob Burgess and Mike Finnigan) also included Jason Marr, John Longstaff, Luke Lundall, Paul Sovio, Matt Vandermaalen, Mike Ivay, James Lewis, James Tessaro, Ryan Grieve, Jeff Payne, Mike Wood and Chris Clarke. …………………………………………………… The 2nd-seeded Port Coquitlam Terry Fox Ravens whipped the Penticton Lakers 102-52 as Steve Crump scored 24. “I think Penticton was tired, considering they played yesterday,” Ravens coach Rich Chambers told the Province. “We played well after it was 25-24 (in the early stages in second quarter). I just think we were nervous because a lot of these guys with us have never been here before. I’m happy with how we played offence. We really fan the floor really well. But I do think we could play defence better. Do I feel good about how we’re playing? I never said that. We’re really trying to take it one game at a time.” The Lakers (coached by Brad Findlay and Bob Rafter) included Matt Defehr, Dustin Hyde, Ryan Speijer, Andy Spinks. …………………………………………………… The 5th-seeded Pitt Meadows Marauders crushed the Vancouver St. George’s Saints 74-53. The Marauders opened with a 20-5 run and romped. Aaron Christensen paced Pitt Meadows with 33. Graeme Scott led St. George’s (coached by Brian Lee) with 13. …………………………………………………… The Delta Seaquam Seahawks defeated the Vancouver Lord Byng Grey Ghosts 66-53. Mike Kim led Seaquam with 22. John Orimaco added 17 and Chris Johal 14, along with 18 boards. Johan told the Surrey Leader that “right from the start, our guards were on fire. Mike (Kim), John (Orimaco) and Nathan (Fallis) all picked up their game. It’s what we expected. We’ve got great outside shooting.” The Seahawks took a 17-8 lead as Kim hit a trio from beyond the arc. Seahawks coach Doug McKenzie said “we didn’t miss many threes (in the first quarter). But then we had a case of nerves. We relaxed in the second quarter. Our shot selection was poor.” The Grey Ghosts drew within 52-48 with five minutes to play by pounding the ball inside to Joness Lang. But Johal countered with a bucket. Fallis notched a runout and Orimaco drained a trey to ice it. Mackenzie said “it shows the grade 12 leadership on this team. Last year, we would have been in trouble.” Johal said “they have a lot of size, so I had to play smart. So I just hid in the 2-3 zone, so they didn’t get a chance to push me as much.” Joness Lang led Lord Byng with 26. The Grey Ghosts also included Anthony Halley, Steve Oakley Jeff Hodgson. …………………………………………………… The Langley Walnut Grove Gators defeated the Kelowna Owls 70-68 after rallying form an 18-point fourth quarter deficit. Logan Kitteringham hit the winning layup with no time left on the clock. But what he really meant to the Gators didn’t show up in statistics. He keyed the comeback against the Owls, scrapping and clawing for every loose ball and rebound in the fourth quarter. He also scored 12 of his game-high 21 points in that frame, and scored the winning bucket on a putback of a shot from Brent Sedo with no time on the clock. Gators coach George Kozlovic told the Langley Advance that Kitterinham “can make that shot with his eyes closed.” The Owls included Kalen Ellert, Chad Pratch, Andy Hill.
In the quarterfinals, the 8th-seeded Langley Walnut Grove Gators stunned the top-seeded Richmond Colts 81-76 as Logan Kitteringham scored 27 points and grabbed 16 rebounds. “It’s an unbelievable feeling,” the 6-4, 195-pound Kitteringham told the Vancouver Sun. “We’ve been working hard all year just to get to the B.C. tournament. To beat Richmond is just a fantastic accomplishment and feeling. I hope we can keep it going.” Kitteringham fouled out with 1:39 to play and Walnut Grove leading 74-70. Gator guard Brent Sado and forward Brian Kim iced the win with four free throws in the dying seconds. Kim finished with 18 points. Karlo Villanueva and Jason Birring each scored 19 to pace Richmond. “We had a game plan for Karlo,” said Kitteringham. “We wanted to keep him out of the middle as much as possible because that’s where he’s most dangerous. I think we succeeded for the most part.” Gators coach George Kozlovic said his squad appeared more nervous in the second round. “We played scared last night, but not tonight. We match up pretty well with Richmond and I believe we have more depth than them. We concentrated on containing their fast break with a half-court press. And we did such a good job when they pressed us. Our team competes harder than any team in the province. They just don’t quit, they believe in themselves and they hang in there. And I think after last night the pressure was taken off and we could just go out and play.” Or, as Kitteringham told the Vancouver Province, “maybe we’re a team of destiny.” The Gators and the Colts hadn’t played anyone willing to get physical with them, so the feisty Gators banged them at every opportunity. Throw in the fact that Richmond got into foul trouble and had to go to their unproven bench, and everything worked in Walnut Grove’s favour. “Richmond didn’t have the competition,” said Kozlovic, whose Langley team finished third in the Fraser Valley. “They haven’t played a team like we play. We play defence. We get right in your face. The big thing with them is that they didn’t play enough tough games. In the Fraser Valley, you’re playing tough games every night.” Drisbow told the Richmond Review that “they had a good game plan and executed it well and we also played well. Our problem was we had too many turnovers, 19, which is uncharacteristic of us. We also game up a lot of offensive rebounds. Three starters (Russell, Lee and Pekarsky) were in foul trouble early. But the reserves played well, including 3 treys by Jeremy Billan. … With the referees, it depended a lot on the physical nature of the play and it (their decisions) affected both teams.” The Colts (coached by Bill Drisbow, assisted by John Kavelec) also included Zach Russell, Jay Lee, Igor Pekarsky, Fred Baaske, Derrick Chow, Rumesh James, Jeremy Billan, Lou Dehlic, Jared Walford, Gary Chu, Jeffrey Manson and Trevor Nakanishi.
The Port Coquitlam Terry Fox Ravens defeated the Delta Seaquam Seahawks 80-54 as forward Steve Crump scored 32. “We’re doing great, everybody’s on top of his game right now,” Crump told the Vancouver Sun. “We’re playing like a team and we’re getting good support from the bench.” The game was over early, as the Ravens roared out to a 21-3 lead and were up 25-11, 45-27 and 56-28 at the quarters. Chris Johal and John Orimco each scored 16 to pace the Seahawks. Seahawks coach Doug MacKenzie told the Surrey Leader “it was bad. It was like we had our first game nerves today instead of yesterday. We had a good game plan but we didn’t follow it at all. They got up to a big lead and it was over.” The Seahawks (coached by Doug MacKenzie) also included Mike Kim, Nathan Fallis.
The 5th-ranked Pitt Meadows Marauders defeated the 4th-seeded Victoria Oak Bay Bays 76-61. The Bays (coached by Gary Mols and Graham Taylor) included Chris Trumpy, Eric Rushton, Anthony Beer, Simon Straith.
In the last quarterfinal, the 3rd-seeded North Vancouver Carson Graham Eagles defeated the 11th-seeded Surrey White Rock Christian Warriors 74-63 as Brent Charleton scored 25 and Fred Winters 24. The Eagles outscored the reigning tournament champions 24-19 in the fourth quarter to put the game away. “No, we couldn’t handle their height,” Warriors coach Scott Allen told the Vancouver Sun. “It’s difficult for us to match, but we’ll be back in the thick of things next year.” The Warriors (coached by Allen) included Kyle Wilson, Zach Hogan, Sean Stewart, Rod Pennington, Adam Backwill, Jordan Cryer.
In the semis, the 5th-seeded Pitt Meadows Marauders edged the 8th-seeded Langley Walnut Grove Gators 68-64. Mike Alain ignited a late fourth-quarter rally for the Marauders and finished with 18 points and 8 boards. “We stuck together and played as a team,” Alain, a 6-0, 210-pound forward, told the Vancouver Sun. “Our perimeter guys probably decided this one for us because the big men on both teams kind of took each other out. I was real happy with our performance tonight.” Also scoring 18 for the Marauders was 6-7 post Aaron Christensen. Shane Kool added 15 and Brian Robinson 13. Logan Kitteringham paced the Gators with 20. Bryan O’Malley added 10 and Dean Suh 10. “They outshot us down the stretch,” said Gators coach George Kozlovic. “They’re a good team and we’re a good team, but I think their perimeter shooting probably decided it. They executed down the stretch and we didn’t.” Despite a 6-0 run off the opening tipoff – and a lead by as much as 9 in the first quarter – the Marauders had to settle for a 19-19 tie after 10 minutes on a looping trey from O’Malley from centre court. The score was deadlocked at 36 at the half.
In the other semi, the Port Coquitlam Terry Fox Ravens nipped the North Vancouver Carson Graham Eagles 67-64.
In the bronze medal match, the Walnut Grove Gators defeated the North Vancouver Carson Graham Eagles 70-60 (the Langley Advance reported the converse, with Carson Graham winning 67-64). Logan Kitteringham was exceptional the entire tournament, coach George Kozlovic told the Vancouver Province. “He’s got the determination, the work ethic, the heart, the willingness to be a leader. He’s got every single intangible that you want. He personifies team player. And he makes the other players around him better, which is rare for a post player.” Dean Suh added that “he’s very, very positive. He never blames things on other people when things go wrong. Without him, we’re not at this tournament. He definitely our leader.” Brent Charleton led the Eagles with 33. The Eagles (coached by Vern Carter) included Fred Winters, Brent Charleton, Rob McCall, Julien Kang.
In the final, the Pitt Meadows Marauders defeated Port Coquitlam Terry Fox Ravens 74-68 in overtime. Coach Rich Goulet was elated that he won the title without transfers. “You don’t have to cheat,” Goulet, a veteran coach and vocal opponent of those magnet schools that attract players away from other schools, told the Vancouver Province. “This proves it again (Goulet also coached Pitt to the title in 1989), and it makes it even sweeter.” Pitt Meadows guard Brian Robinson added that “it makes it more special, knowing that a little group of guys from Pitt Meadows can be together for all these years and win this tournament.” With 4:56 to go and Fraser Valley North League rival Terry Fox leading 60-50, Marauders star centre Aaron Christensen fouled out. The Marauders didn’t quit, though, and cut the margin to 61-59 by the final minute. With 12 seconds left, Pitt Meadows guard Brian Robinson fed forward Ryan Phillips under the hoop and he laid it in to tie the game and force overtime. It was Phillips’ lone bucket of the night. “The coaches knew that it wasn’t over when Christensen fouled out,” said Terry Fox skipper Don Van Os. “We’ve been around too long. We spent the whole 30-second timeout telling them that it wasn’t over. But we just quit attacking, especially when Christensen was out and you can’t win like that.” Terry Fox scored the first bucket of the extra session, but Pitt Meadows stormed back with an 8-0 run to ice the win. Robinson finished with 29 points, 7 boards and 3 assists. Christensen, who was named the tournament’s most valuable player, finished with 13 points and 12 rebounds. Guard Dean Whalen had 24 points for Terry Fox. Steve Crump added 20. “We’ve been together since Grade 9, they’ve been together since Grade 7,” said Van Os. “It shows that if you build with what you’ve got, and there’s commitment, you can do great things.” It was the seventh game this year for the teams, and Terry Fox won four of them. Friends for three decades, the opposing coaches spent Sunday night, just 24 hours after Goulet’s team beat Chambers’ squad in the biggest game of the year, with their usual fare — checking out the latest flick, Julia Roberts’ Erin Brockovich. “I was coaching junior and I think he was coaching junior and senior,” Chambers said. “We were both really interested in basketball and our pursuits of excellence. “In the early days, when I first started coaching at Centennial, he was the first guy to invite my team to a tournament. He introduced me to a lot of people at the senior level that I had never met before.” Terry Fox was up 60-50 with just under five minutes to go when Aaron Christensen, the Marauders star centre and eventual tournament MVP, fouled out. That seemed to deflate the Ravens and they quit attacking. Pitt Meadows took over the game, tying it at 61-61 in the waning seconds and then going on a 10-0 run during overtime to secure the win. “At first, I was upset at my performance, because I didn’t play well in the final,” said Christensen. “But after I got to the bench and cooled off … I had faith in my teammates that they could do it and they could pull it off.” Goulet said “Terry Fox really pushed us to get better. The league games, the league final, the Fraser Valley and here — man, what a preparation. And I’m great friends with those guys at Terry Fox. They handed me videos of teams that we were going to play and scouting reports. We’re great friends and that’s what high school sports should be about.” Chambers led the Vancouver Sun that “Robinson and Ardron [Marauders’ forward Mark Ardron, who finished with 11 points] were the difference down the stretch. They seemed to want the ball more than we did. Full credit to them. Pitt was on fire when it counted most.” Robinson said the experience of playing in the 1998 junior provincial final helped the Marauders. “Nothing comes close to the pressure of playing in a B.C. championship final. It was good preparation for tonight’s game. We didn’t panic down the stretch.” Goulet said he would have “questioned anyone’s sanity” if a B.C. championship had been predicted for the Marauders last October. “We were a dysfunctional family then and continue to be today. We argue, we have little tiffs, and we’re not good friends off the court. All the players have different interests away from basketball. But we’re a family nevertheless. The common denominator is that the players work hard for each other in a basketball setting. When it comes to the game, they’ll go through the wall for each other. I’m thankful for that.”
The bronze medalist Langley Walnut Grove Gators: Logan Kitteringham; Brent Sedo; Brian Kim; Dean Suh; Bryan O’Malley; Matt Baillet; Gracjan Nowakowski; Raf Dinh; Seung Kim; Jake Toews; Chris Neufeld; Jamie Yu; Jon Bright; Brian O’Malley; coach George Kozlovic; assistant George Bergen; assistant Al Falk; manager Katie Atchison; manager Meghan MacLean; manager Trevor Walsh
The silver medalist Port Coquitlam Terry Fox Ravens: Dean Whalen; Steve Crump; Scott Hyde; Emmy Unaegby; Taylor Cherris-Wilding; Karl Rowinski; coach Rich Chambers; coach Don Van Os
The gold medalist Pitt Meadows Marauders: Aaron Christensen; Brian Robinson; Ryan Phillips; Mike Alain; Shane Kool; Mark Ardron; coach Rich Goulet