2007-08 BCSS triple-A – boys

        In the opening round: …………………………………………………… The Cranbrook Mount Baker Wild dumped the Port Moody Heritage Woods Kodiaks 61-50. Both teams were extremely nervous as the game started off with four turnovers and numerous air balls and horrific shots. With the end of the first quarter winding down, the Wild’s Kaleb Pendarker hit a fade away three with under a minute left. Then Wesley Wai of the Kodiaks came down got his defender in the air and scored a nice jumper to cut the Wild lead to 20-16 at the end of the first. In the second quarter, both teams seemed to relax a little bit but the scoring didn’t really increase and there was a total of 25 turnovers in the half. Talon Jones of the Wild racked up a big half for his squad after scoring 10 points and grabbing 11 rebounds to lead the Wild into halftime with a 30-25 advantage. It was all Mount Baker in the third as they added to their lead and entered the fourth with a 13-point edge, 51-38. In the final quarter of play, Talon Jones accepted a pass on an inbounds play for a monster dunk to increase the lead to 15 for the Wild. From there on, the Wild played steady while the Kodiaks just couldn’t put the ball in the basket. “I just came in with the mindset that we have a lot of younger guys, and guys that don’t know what it’s like to play in a big game and that I might have to shoulder some stuff early,” said Talon Jones. “But I knew they would come through and help in the end.” Mount Baker’s Talon Jones was selected player of the game. Derek Tymchyna led the Wild with 17. Jones added 16 and nabbed 14 boards. Julius Dingel scored 11, Shaun Penner 5, Kaleb Pendarker 5, Nico Bonanno 3, Jared Johnson 2 and Lee Atwood 2, while Matt Larsen, Connor Hall, Jordon Hills, Chris Darula and Dan Halber were scoreless. Doug Meyers led Heritage Woods with 15. Nathan Kirby added 10, Jason Liou 8, Joey Dotto 5, Wesley Wai 5, Darwin Binesh 4, Michael Liou 3, Victor Lam 2 and Marc Zinman 1, while James Tomas, Thomas Hoffman, Vito Chan, Jordan Williams and Johnny Wu were scoreless. …………………………………………………… The Port Moody Blues clipped the Prince George Kelly Road Roadrunners 54-39. After a low scoring first quarter, the Blues led 11-7. Halftime favoured the Roadrunners 21-19, with Ryan Chan of the Blues leading all scorers with 11 points and four rebounds in the half. In the third, the Blues caught back up to take the lead 34-26, the Roadrunners wouldn’t go away as Kevan Madsen hit a long two at the end of the quarter to bring the Roadrunners within six, to make the score 34-28 for the Blues. Although Madsen hit back to back threes with under two minutes to go, it just wasn’t enough as the Port Moody Blues rolled to the win. Ryan Chan of the Blues was chosen player of the game after scoring 22. Jay Davey added 14 and 16 boards. Eric Johnson scored 9, Lawrence Buchan 3, Neil Fabbi 2, Vince Florian 2 and Matt Rasmussen 2, while Yang You, Chris Kim, Tim Tong, Taylor Phillips, Jacob McIlveen, Connor Godin and Alex Aguilus were scoreless. Kevan Madsen paced Kelly Road with 17. Kyle Van Mulligen added 6, Daniel Stark 5, Blake Travers 5, Brett Warkentin 4 and Tyler Henly 2, while James Matosevic, Lincoln Pilcik, Keaton McMullen and Dillon Lechkovit were scoreless. …………………………………………………… The Duncan Cowichan Thunderbirds defeated the Kwantlen Park Timberwolves 59-50 in overtime. The Timberwolves came out firing as Mark Dabrowski hit back to back threes to jump out in front 8-0 to start the first. Jeff Bonar of the Thunderbirds hit back to back threes off the bench, to bring Cowichan back within three at the end of the first, 16-13. At halftime, the Timberwolves had a slight lead with the score going into intermission, 32-29. Dabrowski and Ben Kneen of Cowichan led all scorers at half with 13 points. Steve McKinnon of Cowichan grabbed an offensive rebound at the end of the third to cut the Kwantlen Park lead to eight, 43-35 going into the fourth quarter. In the fourth it looked like Kwantlen Park was going to walk away with a victory until Chris Kline of Cowichan hit a clutch three with just over a minute to go to cut the Timberwolves lead to only two 49-47. Kneen grabbed an offensive rebound off of a McKinnon miss, made the lay in and got fouled to make the score 49-49 with 37.8 seconds to go in the game. With six seconds on the clock Cowichan got the ball back for chance to win the game but they couldn’t convert and the game went into overtime. In overtime it was all Cowichan, as Kline hit a three and then got a steal and scored a lay up to make it 55-50. On the next possession McKinnon got good post position and added to their lead with an easy lay in to make the score 57-50. McKinnon got fouled twice and made two free throws on the final play. Steve McKinnon of Cowichan was chosen player of the game. Ben Kneen paced Cowichan with 18. Steve McKinnon added 17 and nabbed 11 boards. Chris Kline scored 11, Jeff Bonar 8, Jordan Weisner 3 and Daniel Holden 2, while Cameron Kenyon, Kevin Pellerin, Andrew Jeklin, Chris Smith, Garrett Chow, Marc Castro, Rulon Schmidt and Jordan Pendelberg were scoreless. Mark Dabrowski led Kwantlen Park with 16. Wayne Fernandes added 8, Bernard Nicholas 8, Tim Oh 7, Gagan Randhawa 6, Justin Cabatuando 4 and Chris Gabayan 2, while Hassan Hamsa, Dannie Nguyen, Emmanuel Antalan, Alex Brennan, Jamie Oun, Miko Montecines, J. Birdi and Ahmed Shalay were scoreless. …………………………………………………… The Richmond Hugh Boyd Trojans pounded the Terrace Caledonia Kermodes 90-59. Lambert Punsalan of Hugh Boyd hit a long three at the buzzer to put the Trojans up 24-16 at the end of the first. The Trojans received a big first half performance from John Lasa who led all scorers with 14 points while only missing one shot and helped his team to a 47-23 halftime advantage. The Kermodes opened up the third quarter with back to back threes but the Trojans were just too much to handle as they sailed to a 68-43 lead going into the fourth and romped home. Caledonia’s undersized lineup tried to scrap its way back into the game but that led to a number of turnovers for the Trojans to capitalize on. “I knew that they were a good outside shooting team and they were pretty intense,” said Boyd head coach Jon Saltel. “But we were bigger than them, we’re fit and we can fast break.” Early foul trouble kept the Trojans from pulling away. Both Jon Lasa and Shannon Sequiera picked up two fouls in the first quarter limiting their time on the court for the Trojans. When Lasa was available, he spurred on the offense completing an old fashioned three-point play to put the Trojans in the lead for good late in the first quarter, and they didn’t look back. By halftime, the Trojans had a 24-point lead and much of that damage came with senior post player Niko Monachini on the bench. “I told them the second half is a new game,” said Saltel. “They don’t want to lose so we have to match and exceed their energy.” Though the Caledonia Kermodes made a run early in the second half they could never pull within striking range. The Kermodes had no answer for the powerful Monachini in the low post. Boyd ran the fast break with ease, extending their lead even further. “Usually the fast break starts producing fruit,” said Saltel. Going into the fourth quarter up by 25 points the Trojans took their foot off the accelerator. Niko Monachini of Hugh Boyd was chosen player of the game. John Lasa paced Hugh Boyd with 30. Niko Monachini added 23 and 11 boards. Lambert Punsalan scored 11, Eoghan Kennedy 7, Kenneth Jackson 5, Matt McPhedrian 6, Colin Brown 4, Ryan Yelland 2 and Shannon Sequiera 2, while Michael Branion-Calles, Steven Bell, Jacob Cabuay, Kyle Ng and Robert Giorno were scoreless. Jon Hanna paced Caledonia with 21. Robbie Keeler added 19, Graeme Austin 7, Josh Dennis 5, Scott Filion 4 and Kory Bothelo 2, while Jordan Tran, Steven Kunar, Angus MacPherson, Matt Eakin, Grant Dusdal, Justin Dosanjh, Ashton Kandola and Mike Parmar were scoreless.

        In the second round: …………………………………………………… The Surrey White Rock Christian Warriors stomped the Victoria Mount Douglas Rams 76-51. Spencer McLean led WRCA to a 21-16 lead with 12 points after the first quarter of play. In the second, it was all White Rock as McLean went 8-8 from the field to lead his squad with 22 points and a halftime score of 43-29. Francis Rowe was the leading man for Mount Doug with 10 points in the half. WRCA continued to roll in the third to take a 61-38 lead going into the fourth and coasted home. White Rock coach Scott Allen was in his 18th and final season at the helm of the Warriors. He’d accepted the head coaching position at Trinity Western shortly before the tournament began. Since Allen took over, WRC has qualified for the triple-A boy’s event nine times and produced a top-three finish on seven occasions. Allen says he was approached about three weeks ago concerning the Trinity Western job. “It’s one of those situations where, if the chance comes along, you have to take it,” he says. “I don’t want to say to myself 10 years from now that I let it go by.” After years of pursuing excellence at the high school level, Allen figures he’s ready to take the next coaching step. “I’m 40 now,” he notes. “I’ve had a lot more experience in life than I did even a few years ago. I feel I’m ready. People are people no matter what level they’re at. They want to be loved and cared for.” In the win over Mount Douglas, “I thought it would be a little tougher game,” admitted Allen. “They [the Rams] are a good team. I didn’t think we’d score as well as we did. It’s a great way to start the tournament.” The White Rock coach also used the opportunity provided by the comfortable margin to get his son Tyus, a pint-sized grade 7 student, into the game for some late action. “This being my last year and all it was an opportunity for both of us,” he said. “It’s my last year here for me and at least I can go back when I am older and say, ‘Yeah, I coached him at the B.C.’s,’” said Allen. “We would have waited longer, but this was my last chance.” The Warriors shooting was spotty from outside – they were just 3-for-17 on three-pointers – but they still were too much for the overmatched Rams. The game was relatively close in the opening quarter, but WRCA never trailed, eventually – after a 10-0 run in the third – leading by as many as 30. “The guys showed up to play today,” WRCA coach Scott Allen said shortly after the game. Eli Mara did an outstanding defensive job on the Rams’ top scorer, Francis Rowe. The Warriors Spencer McLean was chosen player of the game. McLean led the Warriors with 27. Nick DeKoster added 11, Eli Mara 10, Alex Morrison 8, Riley Barker 6, Brian Fougner 4, Iain Con 3, Joel Schat 3, Will Con 2 and Tonner Jackson 2, while Pascal Doppenberg, Colin Weeres, Andrew Williams, Blair Johnston, Sam Short, Tyus Allen, Shaylen Buis and Erik Fougner were scoreless. Francis Rowe paced Mount Douglas with 17. Abdu Benrabahy added 10, Alex Laurin 7, Ian Ruta 7, Steve Carere 6, Michael Dinh 2, Forrester Whitney 2 and Kevin Tai 1, while Mike Thompson, Mike Slater, Javas Sekhon, Jordan Hendry and Patrick Nelson were scoreless. …………………………………………………… The Richmond R.C. Palmer Griffins dumped the Pitt Meadows Marauders 59-42. After one quarter of play, the score was all tied up 10-10. Grade 10 Mike Lewandowski of Pitt Meadows was the leading scorer of the first half with 10 points while the game was still tied 26-26 going into intermission. Palmer came out of halftime on fire as they jumped out to an early lead behind great guard play and excellent three-point shooting by Matthew Madewan. The score at the end of three favoured the Griffins 46-33. Although Pitt Meadows was the higher ranked team, Palmer forced them into 28 team turnovers and got easy buckets to win the game. Eliminated at the buzzer one season ago at the same juncture of the Telus B.C. boys high school basketball championships, Richmond’s R.C. Palmer Griffins knew full well that they were staring at an identical fate Wednesday at the PNE Agrodome. Yet as the Griffins came out of the locker room after halftime, embroiled in a 26-26 deadlock with the Pitt Meadows Marauders, their solution to an eventual 59-42 victory had nothing to do with their reputation as an offensive juggernaut. Instead, it was all about playing the defensive quarter of their lives. “We’re certainly known for our run-and-gun style, but I think what a lot of people haven’t understood about this team, is that it all starts from the defensive end,” said Palmer head coach Paul Eberhardt. What the Griffins wound up doing in the third quarter was producing one of the most suffocating defensive performances in recent B.C. tournament history. R.C. Palmer held Pitt Meadows to just six field-goal attempts (2-for-6) in the quarter and two of those were three-point tries. That defence keyed an 18-2 Palmer run and put a tight struggle out of reach for the Marauders. “I have to tell you honestly, that that is one of the best third quarters of defence that any high school team I have coached has ever played,” said Eberhardt, who has also coached Magee and McNair to the provincials. “[Pitt Meadows] couldn’t even get the ball over centre court and the guys just worked their asses off. Spencer Sangara was phenomenal today.” Sangara was indeed a treat to watch. Positioned at the top of the Griffins’ suddenly aggressive pressure defence, the senior guard finished the game with six steals and admitted afterwards that he played well above his defensive abilities. “Today I did,” he said happily, after also adding 11 points. “I am not a very good defender, I’ll admit it. But today I was playing with energy and it led to steals.” The Marauders, from a defensive standpoint, played a textbook first half. Their zone defence denied all Palmer dribble penetration and effectively kept the ball out of the hands of post sensation Aran Hare, who managed just two points on four first-half field-goal attempts. “It was the effort of our players,” said Pitt head coach Rich Goulet. “It was as if they were playing not to lose and you can’t approach it that way.” Palmer extended its defence out beyond the three-point arc in the third quarter, and once the steals and turnovers started coming, “we got more and more aggressive,” said Eberhardt. “It was like sharks going to blood in the water.” Neither team was able to establish its game in the first two quarters and so they headed into the second half even at 26-26. But Akeem Pierre unleashed a long-range missile that found nothing but net to put Palmer up 30-26 just over two minutes into the third quarter. The Griffins never relinquished the lead. “We played the way (Pitt Meadows) wanted,” suggested Pierre of the first half in which both teams seemed sluggish, missed easy layups, and generally seemed to lack the heart to fight for rebounds. We showed we’re still not used to playing here yet. But in the second half we picked up our intensity and got points from working hard on defence.” Spencer Sangara added that “we don’t come out like that often” but elevated their intensity. The player of the game honour was awarded to Akeem Pierre of Palmer who led his team with 18 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and five steals. Spencer Sangara scored 11, Matt Madewan 9, Brandon Tait 8, Aran Hare 5, Mark Kol 3, Amandeep Bath 3 and Aman Bindra 2, while Tim Yu, Daniel Siu, Jas Dhari, Jeevan Janda, Donjie Quisido, Martin Karadzic, Billy Cheng, Mike Zayas and Eric Yang were scoreless. Stuart Smith paced Pitt Meadows with 13. Mike Lewandowski added 10, Sean Novotny 8, Kurt Milton 5, Spencer Evans 2, Bryce Pelton 2 and Pat Loveridge 2, while Colin Plumb, Jeff Colclough, Dylan Forman, Brandon Dalki, Rob Juraski, Taylor Weigel, Morgan Hayduk and Tyler Norrie were scoreless. …………………………………………………… The 6th-seeded Vancouver St. George’s Saints defeated the North Vancouver Handsworth Royals 74-67 in overtime. At the end of the first the Saints led the way 14-11. The Saints continued to increase their lead in the second quarter behind 10 points from Gurjote Jhaj to make it 37-26 going into halftime. Andrew McGuinness hit a long pull-back two and on the next possession came down in transition to hit a three to lead the Royals back to tie the game at 43 with 3:32 to go in the third. The game got extremely physical in the third with the Saints going into the fourth with a 49-46 advantage. It was a pretty evenly played quarter with the lead changing for the first time with less than five minutes to go, after McGuinness hit a long two and three treys from point guard Rahim Pendleton. With a minute to go in the game the score was all tied up at 62. The Saints got a big stop and had the ball with 28 seconds to play with a chance to win. The Saints’ Dillon Hamilton missed a contested lay up as the buzzer sounded. In overtime, Johnny Regan hit a three with a minute and a half to go to put the Saints up four 70-66. Ross Burrell got fouled under the basket and hit his first to make the score 70-67. Jhaj was fouled with 19.5 seconds on the clock and made both free throws. Pendleton missed a three attempt and the Saints won. Player of the game went to Luke Braund of the Saints who finished with 24 points and 15 rebounds. In the extra session the Saints dominated by a 12-5 margin. “The key was sticking to our game plan of getting the ball to Luke,” said Saints coach Brian Lee. “Sometimes, when the pressure is on, teams deviate from their plan. We didn’t.” Handsworth coach Randy Storey said “I thought our kids played a great game. One shot either way was the difference.” Braund, a 6-foot-6 Grade 11 forward scored seven of his 24 points in overtime. “I remember it quite vividly,” Braund said of his Grade 9 cameo, in which he appeared for all 97 seconds. “I remember coming out and looking at all the spotlights and it was mesmerizing. You’re out there with so much adrenaline pumping and now, in Grade 11, you’re here. Being here before helped. I could tell all the Grade 11 guys that once the nerves pass, it’s all good.” The Saints played with a lot of poise against a gutsy Handsworth team that knocked down a barrage of treys courtesy of point guard Rahim Pendleton in the fourth quarter. The Royals’ self-made floor general, one of the best in the province this season despite never starting until his senior year, hit three straight treys, the final coming two steps outside the arc with Saints’ guard Dillon Hamilton right in his face. That shot put the Royals ahead 57-55 with 4:52 left in regulation. But from that point on, Braund and guards Gurjote Jhaj and Johnny Regan seemed to step their focus up a notch. Braund scored six straight points before Regan stripped Pendleton and was fouled, making one of two free throws to send the game to overtime. In overtime, Braund hit a trey, scored on a post-up inside layup and knocked down a pair of free throws. “It’s always a bit of a custom that when we get to the B.C.’s, we bring some of the younger guys up so that they can experience it, taste it and relish wanting to get back here,” said St. George’s head coach Brian Lee. “And that time in Grade 9 worked for Luke because he’s been thinking about that ever since.” Gurjotte Jhaj added 17, Johnny Regan 14, Dillon Hamilton 10, Joshua Robertson 5 and Emerson Murray 2, while Zahid Jethani, Taylor Sekhon, Frank Liu, Matthew Renwick, Tim Stockton, Tyler Ireland, Jared Schacter, William Taki-Prah and Leland Chung were scoreless. Andrew McGuinness paced Handsworth with 17. Rahim Pendleton added 16, Sean Ashkenazy 14, Ross Burrell 11, Patrick Shier 4, Leyland Seto 3 and Kam Amini 2, while Ryan Wheeler, Ryan Holmes, Sam Tang, Min Chang, Beau Eshleman, Conner Brown and David Frank were scoreless. …………………………………………………… The Vancouver College Fighting Irish whipped the Cranbrook Mount Baker Wild 89-48. The Fighting Irish led 55-27 at the half and their lead was never threatened. Star forward Marc Trasolini, a 6-8 forward bound for Santa Clara, was a force at both ends of the court for the Irish. Vancouver College coach Jon Tagulao was pleased with his team’s efforts. “The guys were a little antsy,” he said. “They were eager to get out there and run the floor. Our plan was to establish an inside presence with Trasolini and the guys did a good job. They all committed to the plan.” Trasolini led the Fighting Irish to a 28-16 first quarter lead with 13 points and five rebounds. The Fighting Irish outscored the Wild 27-10 in the second quarter with Trasolini finishing with 19 points and eight rebounds in the first half. Derek Tymchyna of the Wild scored 15 points in the half, but the Wild went into halftime down 55-27. Going into the fourth quarter the score heavily favoured the Fighting Irish 73-41. Vancouver College played their bench the whole fourth quarter and went on to win. Trasolini was chosen player of the game after scoring 27 and nabbing 12 boards. Sam Williams added 22 points, Thomas Scrubb 11, Rodan Rabanq 8, Will Campbell 6, Restie Provido 6, Braden Ralla 4, Harrison Mair 4, Phillip Scrubb 3, Matt McTaggart 3, Spencer Whitlock 3, Pardeep Bains 1, Miguel Ramirez 1 and Baltej Basra 1, while Farris Tyab and Chris Armstrong were scoreless. Derek Tymchyna paced Mount Baker with 18. Lee Atwood added 11, Talon Jones 6, Kaleb Pendarker 6, Matt Larsen 4, Julius Dingel 2 and Nico Bonanno 1, while Connor Hall, Jordon Hills, Chris Darula, Dan Halber, Jared Johnson and Shaun Penner were scoreless. …………………………………………………… The Port Coquitlam Terry Fox Ravens crushed the Victoria Belmont Bulldogs 72-43. Brad Galloway of the Braves scored inside right before the buzzer to tie the game at 12 at the end of the first. At halftime, the score hardly favoured the Ravens 28-26. Stuart McIntosh led the way for Terry Fox with 13 points and seven rebounds while Alex Sadowski contributed 10 points and nine boards for the Bulldogs. The Ravens jumped out in front in the third behind six more points from McIntosh and a really nice shake and bake by AJ Hanson to make the score 47-39 going into the fourth quarter. From there on it was all the Ravens as they outscored the Bulldogs 26-4 in the final quarter. The Ravens earned a berth in the quarterfinals against Vancouver College with a red-hot fourth quarter that fuelled its 39-point win, as they outscored the Vancouver Island champs 25-4 in the final period and held them to just 18-per-cent shooting from the field for the game. Player of the game went to Stuart McIntosh of the Terry Fox Ravens who finished with 27 points and 12 rebounds. Omid Davani added 17 points and 10 boards. Taylor Collins scored 10, A.J. Hanson 9, Connor Waddell 4, Tibi Banica 2, Steve Mawa 2 and Andrew Ruditsch 1, while Sean Dunphy, Daniel Villasenor, Devin Khera, Myles White, Aman Jhaj, Bryan Farbridge, Matthew Sommerfeldt, Nick Alexiou and Peter Cheema were scoreless. Cody Baylis paced Belmont with 14. Alex Sadowski added 13, Tristan Hall 6, Brad Galloway 4, Evan Verdel 2, David Shilling 2 and Craig LeQuesne 2, while Dallas Cullen, Cam Goes, Jeff Conway-Jones, Jeff Helgason, Matthew Parten and Owen Enright were scoreless. Despite feeling the heat early, Terry Fox shook off some serious foul trouble and broke open a 28-26 game in the second half with a flourish. “We got into serious foul trouble. Stuart McIntosh really kept us in the game,” noted Fox co-coach Rich Chambers. An eight-point edge after 30 minutes was quickly turned into a rout, when the Ravens hit their stride with a 14-0 run to start the final quarter. “When we start running, not many teams can stop us,” Davani said. “Not to sound cocky but we know if we run we have an edge.” …………………………………………………… The Vancouver Kitsilano Blue Demons dumped the Port Moody Blues 75-46. Clayton Crellin of Kits got the first basket of the game after a go ahead pass from Chris Mulangu for a monster dunk. It was not a pretty first quarter as the Blue Demons committed 11 turnovers and the Blues turned it over 15 times to end the quarter with a 15-7 score for Kits. At halftime the score was 38-24 in favour of the Blue Demons with Mulangu leading the way with 14 points on four three-pointers. To end the third Jeff Lightburn of Kitsilano tipped it in to increase the Blue Demons lead to 60-35. “We wanted to get our first game of the tournament behind us because it’s different playing in here [the Agrodome] than in most high school gyms,” said Kitsilano coach Randy Coutts. “I was happy with our performance. Now we’ve got to get ready to play White Rock.” Player of the game honour was awarded to Jeff Lightburn of the Kitsilano Blue Demons who finished the game with 14 points and seven rebounds. Clayton Crellin led Kitsilano with 16. Chris Mulangu added 14, Brad Quevillon 10, Solomon Ahmed 8, Tommy Nixon 5, Alex Michalowski 3, Matt Vissar 3 and Khaled Attalaoui 2, while Henry Allan, Graydon Bensler, Henry Williams, Nick Pennington, Omar Adlani and Daniel Dubois were scoreless. Jay Davey paced Port Moody with 18. Ryan Chan added 8, Neil Fabbi 8, Eric Johnson 6, Vince Florian 3, Lawrence Buchan 2 and Yang You 1, while Chris Kim, Tim Tong, Taylor Phillips, Matt Rasmussen, Jacob McIlveen, Connor Godin and Alex Aguilus were scoreless. …………………………………………………… The Abbotsford Yale Lions outlasted the Richmond Hugh Boyd Trojans 103-88. It was a fast-paced game right from the start, Grade 11 forward Brad Kufske of Yale led the way, scoring 11 first quarter points for a 26-16 advantage for the Lions going into the second. Kufske added 10 more points in the second to increase the Yale lead to 50-31 at halftime. At the start of the third, the Trojans came out firing behind American-born Niko Monachini who finished the quarter with 14 points and 15 rebounds while point guard Lambert Punsalan added 17 points. But Brad and Josh Kufske were two much to handle on this night, when together they scored 58 of the total 103 points for the Yale Lions. Yale’s size and athleticism became a factor as the Lions stormed ahead to a 26-16 first quarter lead in the 16-team B.C. boys triple-A basketball championships. “Turnovers were the big thing,” said Boyd head coach Jon Saltel. “We didn’t take care of the ball and we gave them some easy hoops.” Boyd was helpless defending the size of their opponents on the inside and sloppy play contributed to an even bigger lead as Yale picked up the tempo. “I don’t take any game for granted, I’ve been teaching that all year,” said Yale coach Al Friesen before the game. “Seedings mean nothing.” Yale led 50-31 at the half. Despite a big run in the third led by the likes of John Lasa and Lambert Punsalan the Trojans could never close the gap, Yale always had them at arm’s length. A Punsalan foul with one second remaining in the third quarter put Yale wing Joel Friesen on the line, extending the lead to 79-61. Yale didn’t relent in the fourth quarter keeping their starters on the floor they continued to push the ball, exhausting the Trojans’ depth. “I had a short bench tonight and they get tired and when they get tired, they’re gonna make mistakes,” said Hugh Boyd coach Saltel. Player of the game honours went to Brad Kufske of the Yale Lions who finished with 33 points, 9 rebounds and four steals. Older brother Josh Kufske scored 25 and nabbed 13 boards. Jasper Moedt scored 15 and nabbed 20 boards. Joel Friesen scored 19, Caleb Klassen 4, Nathan Kendall 4 and Odayne Roberts 2, while Chris Schmidtke, Brandon Konrad, Mike Verhuel, David Thompson, Kees vanLeeuwen, Alex Flores, Ian Perry, Jordan Brown, Tristan Gruenthaler and David Busswood were scoreless. Niko Monachini led Hugh Boyd with 25 points and 21 boards. Lambert Punsalan added 22 points, John Lasa 17, Shannon Sequiera 14, Kenneth Jackson 6, Ryan Yelland 2 and Eoghan Kennedy 2, while Michael Branion-Calles, Colin Brown, Steven Bell, Jaco Cabuay, Kyle Ng, Robert Giorno and Matt McPhedrian were scoreless. …………………………………………………… The Duncan Cowichan Thunderbirds defeated the Kelowna Owls 60-49. At the end of the first quarter, the score heavily favoured the Thunderbirds 19-2 after Jordan Weisner hit a shot on the other side of centre to end the first. In the second the Owls shook off the bus legs to put some points on the board and end the half down 26-13. Dean Kmyta hit a three as the buzzer sounded to end the third quarter to make the score 36-30 for the Thunderbirds. Cowichan led the entire game. Kelowna scored just two points in the first quarter. Player of the game went to Cowichan post Ben Kneen who scored 19 points and grabbed nine rebounds. Steve McKinnon added 18 points, Jordan Weisner 15, Jeff Bonar 5, Chris Smith 2 and Chris Kline 1, while Cameron Kenyon, Kevin Pellerin, Daniel Holden, Garrett Chow, Matt Castro, Rulon Schmidt and Jordan Pendelberg were scoreless. Ryan Fahandeg paced Kelowna with 16. Dan Briscoe added 11, Dean Kmyta 9, Alistair Hart 6, Eric Moisan 4 and Dave Peace 3, while Andrew McKay, Jordan Greyell, Marco Jonker, Jared Clark, Rylan Clarke, Travis Milligen and Sanjesh Mudaliar were scoreless.

        In the quarterfinals, the Vancouver College Fighting Irish clipped the Port Coquitlam Terry Fox Ravens 71-56. At the end of the first quarter, the score slightly favoured the Fighting Irish 22-16. Despite committing 10 turnovers in the first half, the Fighting Irish entered halftime up 35-28, after a Marc Trasolini drop step dunk at the end of the quarter. In the third quarter the score stayed tight for the first six minutes until the Fighting Irish started to use their overwhelming size advantage, to bring the lead to 53-39 to start the fourth. Will Campbell of Vancouver College came off the bench to hit a big three in the third and then again in the first minute of play in the fourth to extend the Fighting Irish lead to 57-42. Terry Fox had a very difficult time breaking the tenacious press that Vancouver College imposed and the Fighting Irish won a date with Yale tomorrow night. Trasolini got the crowd on their feet with four minutes to go after he beat his man off the dribble and slammed it down with authority. From there on, the Ravens lost any steam they might have had left and the Fighting Irish soared to a 15-point win. The Terry Fox Ravens came prepared to take a punch Thursday in the quarterfinal round of the Telus B.C. boys high school basketball championships. And for the better part of three quarters, they took the best shot that the Vancouver College Fighting Irish could throw at them. But big baskets by the Irish’s Thomas Scrubb and Will Campbell at a key juncture of the third quarter eventually weakened the knees of the gutsy Port Coquitlam school, and from that point on, star forward Marc Trasolini stepped up to make sure there would be no upset. “Those are what we call knock-out punches,” said Irish head coach Jon Tagulao. “If you want to win a championship, you have to take hits and you have to give hits. You have to keep hitting until you knock them out.” Few teams have done as solid a job on Trasolini as the Ravens did, allowing him just four shot opportunities at half time. But with Scrubb and Campbell stepping up offensively, the Ravens couldn’t keep the 6-foot-8 sensation from getting his touches. Player of the game was awarded to Marc Trasolini, who scored 24 and nabbed 12 boards. Restie Provido added 17 points, Will Campbell 10, Thomas Scrubb 10, Harrison Mair 6, Pardeep Bains 2 and Spencer Whitlock 2, while Braden Ralla, Matt McTaggart, Miguel Ramirez, Baltej Basra, Farris Tyab, Chris Armstrong, Phillip Scrubb, Rodan Rbanq and Sam Williams were scoreless. Omid Davani paced Terry Fox with 14. Stuart McIntosh added 11, Tibi Banica 10, A.J. Hanson 6, Taylor Collins 5, Myles White 4, Connor Waddell 2, Bryan Farbridge 2 and Steve Mawa 2, while Sean Dunphy, Daniel Villasenor, Devin Khera, Andrew Ruditsch, Aman Jhaj, Matthew Sommerfeldt, Nick Alexiou and Peter Cheema were scoreless.

        The Abbotsford Yale Lions stuffed the Vancouver St. Georges Saints 84-62. At the end of the first quarter, despite turning the ball over eight times the Lions led the way 17-13. As the buzzer sounded to end the first half, the Lions had the advantage, 35-22. The Lions came out firing and went on an 11-4 run to start the third, led by guards Brad Kufske and Joel Friesen. Yale managed to put in a 29-point quarter to lead the game 64-42 heading into the fourth quarter and romped. Yale hit on 42.4 per cent of its field shots, compared to St. George’s 31.9 per cent. But the biggest difference between the teams was rebounding. The Lions out-rebounded the Saints handily, 56-38. “Rebounding has been our main strength all season,” said a smiling Jasper Moedt. “We try to limit second chances for our opponents by being aggressive on the glass and I thought we did a pretty good job of that today. But this definitely wasn’t an easy game for us. The score didn’t reflect that. St. George’s worked hard the whole time.” The Lions led by only two points after the first quarter, but staged a 13-0 run early in the second and maintained a comfortable lead the rest of the way. St. George’s trailed by as many as 20 points in the second half and had to rely on three-point shooting to get back within shouting range. But the Saints connected on only four of their 20 shots from behind the arc. Another factor was free-throw shooting. Yale was on 22 for 27 at the free-throw line and St. George’s was 12 for 25. “You have to take advantage of every inch of space Yale gives you, or you’re in trouble,” said Saints head coach Brian Lee. “That’s the way Yale plays. They’ve got great scoring, great rebounding and great depth off their bench. And I like the way they go about their business. You don’t see their players celebrating a big basket or a big rebound. They keep the same level of commitment and emotion throughout every game. There’s no showboating. I said at the start of the season that Yale was the best team in B.C. I’m still saying it now.” Fraser Valley-bound forwards Jasper Moedt and Josh Kufske and guard Joel Friesen, along with Grade 11 guard Brad Kufske, were as dominant and entertaining a group as the 2008 tournament has yet seen, combining for 72 points and 46 rebounds. “They just kind of wear you down,” said St. George’s head coach Brian Lee. “They don’t do anything special except play you man-to-man for the whole 94 feet from the beginning of the first quarter to the final buzzer. They are just such a strong and physical team.” And a focused one, too, as evidenced by Yale’s 22-27 outing from the free throw line. ‘Rebounds are huge,” said Moedt of the Lions who outboarded St. George’s 56-38. “Everyone rebounded and that is what our team is all about. That is our calling card.” If the Lions looked absolutely dominant, they didn’t show it, and that is another sign of being a well-coached team. “If you notice with their players, there is no showmanship,” said Lee. “They are stone faced. They just stick to the game plan. If they turn it over, they just run back down the floor on defence. If they score a big hoop, they don’t get too excited. They are just tough.” Jasper Moedt was selected as player of the game when he finished with 16 points, 15 rebounds and 4 blocks. Joel Friesen led the Lions with 24 and 11 boards. Brad Kufske added 17 and 13 boards. Josh Kufske scored 15, Odayne Roberts 5, David Busswood 3, Nathan Kendall 2 and Jordan Brown 2, while Chris Schmidtke, Brandon Konrad, Mike Verhuel, David Thompson, Kees vanLeeuwen, Caleb Klassen, Merrick Klassen, Ian Perry and Tristan Gruenthaler were scoreless. Johnny Regan paced St. Georges with 16. Luke Braund added 15, Furjote Jhaj 14, Joshua Robertson 7, Dillon Hamilton 4, Frank Liu 2, William Taki-Prah 2 and Emerson Murray 2, while Zahid Jethani, Taylor Sekhon, Matthew Renwick, Tim Stockton, Tyler Ireland, Jared Schacter and Leland Chung were scoreless.

        The Surrey White Rock Christian Warriors edged the Vancouver Kitsilano Blue Demons 62-60. By the end of the first quarter, WRCA’s high point man from yesterday, Spencer McLean had three fouls and the Blue Demons jumped out to a 19-15 lead after one. In the second, WRCA received strong performances off the bench, as they were the superior team going into halftime up 30-28. Both teams played tough in the first half with Clayton Crellin scoring the majority of their points. It was still pretty close after three with the Blue Demons trailing 46-45. The fourth quarter was extremely exciting as the lead changed throughout the quarter and the game headed into overtime when the final buzzer sounded with the score all tied up at 53. Missed free throws and opportunities describes overtime to a tee as Kitsilano had many chances to win the game but ended up going a horrendous 20-31 from the charity strike with most of those misses coming in overtime. Although the Blue Demons received 33 points and 10 rebounds from Clayton Crellin, it wasn’t enough to close out the Warriors as they advanced to the final four with a two-point win. As the lone remaining player from the last White Rock Christian Academy Warriors team to win the Telus B.C. Boys Triple-A basketball championship back in 2005, Nick DeKoster didn’t want to exit the winner’s side of the draw before the fun actually had a chance to get started. So, on Thursday, the diminutive guard delivered some clutch late-game heroics at the PNE Agrodome, keeping the pulse on the Warriors’ season alive by leading them to a heart-stopping 62-60 overtime quarterfinal victory against the Lower Mainland champion Kitsilano Blue Demons. “It’s my Grade 12 year and I felt like I had to take this team on my shoulders when (teammates) Eli (Mara) and (Tonner) fouled out,” said DeKoster, who was a ninth grader when the Warriors defeated Nanaimo’s Wellington Wildcats in the 2005 final. In a contest in which both teams took turns missing clutch free throws down the stretch, DeKoster scored 10 his team-high 16 points in the second half, including the five biggest of his career in the overtime period. DeKoster’s coast-to-coast driving layup with 2:37 left in overtime was actually the final field goal of the contest and put his team ahead 59-58. Kitsilano’s dynamic senior Clayton Crellin missed two of his final four free throws, and White Rock Christian proceeded to go 3-of-8 from the stripe over the final 1:16 of overtime, somehow managing to squeeze out the win. “I think it was a chess match the whole game,” said WRCA head coach Scott Allen. DeKoster said the game plan was to shut down Crellin, who nonetheless finished with 33 points, 10 rebounds and five blocks. But the player the Warriors had trouble slowing down the stretch was Grade 11 swingman Tommy Nixon who scored 16 of his 18 points in the second half and overtime, including 14 of his team’s final 22 points. “In the second half Tommy stepped up and made big shots,” said Kits head coach Randy Coutts, whose team dropped a one-point decision to Nanaimo’s Dover Bay in last season’s championship final. “That’s what leaders are made of. But I thought they out-rebounded us and they got second- and third-chance opportunities. In close ball games, that can be the difference.” White Rock Christian Academy fans have been wearing shirts emblazoned with the slogan “Because We Believe.” The quarterfinal was certainly a test of faith. The Warriors and Demons battled in a back-and-forth contest – with more lead changes than one could count – with WRCA eventually prevailing 62-60 in overtime. With dynamic Grade 10 guard Eli Mara and senior forward Tonner Jackson both fouling out late in the game – Mara in the fourth, Jackson in overtime – Warriors’ Nick DeKoster took the team on his shoulders, and scored 10 of his team-leading 16 points in the second half, including five in the extra frame. His driving layup with two minutes remaining in OT proved to be the difference in the game. “It was one of my favourite moments of my life, to win this game,” said White Rock’s Alex Morrison. “That was one of the games for the ages for us,” WRCA coach Scott Allen said. “To win a game of that importance, to get to the final four… is very satisfying. I’m really proud of the guys tonight.” Both the Warriors and Blue Demons had chances to put the game away at various points, but Kits struggled from the free throw line – leading scorer Clayton Crellin missed two crucial shots in overtime – and WRCA had trouble, at times, getting lay-ins to fall through. Where the Warriors did dominate was on the boards. Though they only out-rebounded their Vancouver opponents 51-47, WRCA got a handful of offensive boards – Will and Iain Con combined for nine – which led to 11 second-chance points, compared to just five for the Demons. Additionally, WRCA’s bench outscored Kits’ 21-0. “I’m really happy for those guys – they worked their butts off the last couple years, and now to have some success… in such an important game, is an amazing opportunity for them,” Allen said. Morrison added that “it shows that everyone’s been working their butts off. We’re not five players, we’re 12 players.” Player of the game Nick Dekoster came up clutch for WRCA, as he played 45 minutes, scored 16 points and grabbed 7 rebounds. Eli Mara scored 13, Alex Morrison 10, Will Con 9, Iain Con 5, Tonner Jackson 4, Spencer McLean 3 and Brian Fougner 2, while Pascal Doppenberg, Joel Schat, Riley Barker, Colin Weeres, Andrew Williams, Blair Johnston, Sam Short, Tyus Allen, Shaylen Buis and Erik Fougner were scoreless. Clayton Crellin paced Kitsilano with 33 points and 10 boards. Tommy Nixon added 18, Jeff Lightburn 4, Brad Quevillon 3 and Chris Mulangu 2, while Henry Allan, Alex Michalowski, Solomon Ahmed, Matt Vissar, Graydon Bensler, Henry Williams, Khaled Attalaoui, Nick Pennington, Omar Adlani and Daniel Dubois were scoreless.

        The Richmond R.C. Palmer Griffins defeated the Duncan Cowichan Thunderbirds 77-63. Akeem Pierre of Palmer scored the first 10 points and 14 in the quarter as Palmer went up 19-17 going into the second. The Griffins gained the lead after a Brandon Tait floater from the free throw line at the buzzer. Cowichan spent the second quarter catching up and then gaining the lead to go into halftime up 36-28. Ben Kneen of the Thunderbirds was the leading scorer in the half with 16 points and six rebounds. Palmer poured on the points in the third to end the quarter with a 54-45. The game got physical late in the fourth as Steve McKinnon was called for a technical for punching Pierre after a Pierre foul. Matt Madewan hit a game deciding three to make the score 70-55 with two minutes to go. It happened so quickly, even the head coach didn’t know what had happened. “We just had this glazed over look, this ‘deer in the headlight’ or whatever you want to call it” R.C. Palmer head coach Paul Eberhardt tried to explain of his team’s first-half. “But in the second half, we just got this little spark, and I am quite observant usually, but I looked up and I was like ‘OK, how are we up by 11?’” The Griffins flicked the switch at their bench that reads ‘Pressure Defence’ and miraculously string together a 16-0 run that won them the game. “We’re just working as a unit,” said Palmer’s Akeem Pierre of the team’s second straight comeback fueled by its defensive intensity. “Everyone is getting their rotations and teams are stifled because whenever they pass, a guy is on them. They can’t pass here, they can’t pass there. They have to second guess every pass and when teams do that, they get on their heels and we can attack defensively, which is what want to do.” Eberhardt said “it started with our pressure defence. Our full court and half-court defence created turnovers and that got us going with layups. And then Matt Madewan (who scored a game-high 27 points), it was like the hoop was 20-feet wide. But Cowichan played so, so hard. They deserved to be leading at the half. I said my kids that this was going to be the kind of game where it won’t happen for you after the first two quarters, that we were going to have to work hard and wear them down.” game that was not going to be over after two quarters. Player of the game was awarded to Akeem Pierre of Palmer who totaled 22 points and 15 rebounds. For half the game, it looked like the Thunderbirds were in control. They led 36-28 at the half as post Ben Kneen dominating inside for 16 points. But the lead evaporated quickly during a disastrous third quarter when the T-Birds were outscored 26-9. They went into the fourth quarter trailing 54-45 and never recovered. The T-Birds, with their dyed red locks, had a game plan that worked, in the first half. “We were slowing the game,” said manager Ted Webb. “They’re a run-and-gun team and they’re rough.” The battering inside eventually took a toll on Kneen, who scored only six second-half points, and put Grade 10 rookie sensation Steven McKinnon on the sidelines with a gash to his eye. The third quarter was a combination of problems, said Webb. “We put the ball up, they’d grab it from us. We coughed it up left, right and centre in the third quarter. I guess we were tired. We played the extra game. The bubble burst basically. (Coach) Sandeep (Heer) and I both agree it’s not a case we lost, it’s how we lost it.” The Griffins found themselves in an uphill battle with Cowichan. Akeem Pierre opened the scoring on the game’s first possession en route to scoring his team’s first 10 points. But the Thunderbirds weren’t rattled, working the two-man game to perfection and getting their big men involved. Starting post players Steve McKinnon and Ben Kneen wreaked havoc on the inside, giving the T-Birds the lead. “We knew we had to do a really good job with their big guys,” said Palmer head coach Paul Eberhardt. “In the first half we didn’t but in the second we took their big guys out of the game with our pressure and that was the difference. “It took until the two-minute mark of the first quarter for a different Palmer player to score when Matt Madewan hit a three. Pierre wasn’t about to be outdone, going off for four more points before the end of the quarter when Brandon Tait beat the buzzer to put the Griffins on top 19-17. Pierre had 14 of the team’s 19 first quarter points. Aran Hare set off the Palmer crowd with an emphatic dunk to start the second quarter. Until that point the tempo was listless and turnovers were prevalent as Palmer’s 2-3 zone defence gave Cowichan fits. Hare’s dunk brought the intensity. Cowichan called a timeout to regroup and set up a play to get Rulon Schmidt a look from outside, the three-ball put the T-Birds back on top 30-28 and sparked a run led by Kneen. The Griffins were in a hole at the half down 36-28. “I don’t care what the score is a lot of the time I just want us to play hard all the time,” said Eberhardt. “Cowichan worked way harder than us and were deserving of being ahead at half time.” A Spencer Sangara three-ball midway through the third quarter brought the Griffins within range but another Cowichan timeout settled the team down and got them back into rhythm. But a few minutes later the Griffins were in the lead after a technical foul committed out of frustration by Cowichan’s Jordan Weisner put Matt Madewan on the line for two shots. The lead was soon nine and Cowichan was coming apart at the seams. Unable to even break the press and make it across half court the Thunderbirds were turning the ball over at an alarming rate something head coach Sandeep Heer was worried about before the game. “We have to make sure we don’t turn the ball over on their press,” he said. “Take care of the ball and we’ll be fine.” Coming into the fourth quarter the atmosphere was close to that of a street fight. Palmer led 54-45 and was never threatened. “Those Cowichan kids hammered us and played hard,” said Eberhardt. Matt Madewan led the Griffins with 27. Spencer Sangara added 14 and Aran Hare 10, along with 14 boards. Brandon Tait scored 3, while Tim Yu, Mark Kol, Daniel Siu, Amandeep Bath, Jas Dhari, Jeevan Janda, Donjie Quisido, Aman Bindra, Martin Karadzic, Billy Cheng, Mike Zayas and Eric Yang were scoreless. Ben Kneen paced Cowichan with 22 points and 10 boards. Jordan Weisner added 14, Steve McKinnon 11, Chris Kline 9, Rulon Schmidt 4 and Garrett Chow 3, while Cameron Kenyon, Kevin Pellerin, Chris Smith, Daniel Holden, Jeff Bonar, Marc Castro and Jordan Pendelberg were scoreless.

        In the semifinals, the Surrey White Rock Christian Academy Warriors defeated the Richmond R.C. Palmer Griffins 81-73. WRCA jumped out quick behind two treys from Nick Dekoster to make the score 12-3 with 5:23 left in the first. At the end of one WRCA took a slight lead of 20-15 over Palmer, but Eli Mara and Dekoster each picked up two fouls in the first. The Warriors got up early 29-17 but Akeem Pierre and the Griffins wouldn’t go away as they ended the half only down the slim margin of 36-33. Spencer McLean of WRCA put up 15 points and grabbed eight rebounds while Palmer received 25 points from Pierre and Aran Hare together. After a breakaway steal by Mara he went up for a monster jam but threw it down too hard and it popped out, he got the rebound and then fed a wide-open McLean but he missed the layup. And on the next possession Mara was called for his fourth foul of the game. With 56.2 seconds left in the third, Pierre made a nice pro hop inside for two and got fouled. Hare hit a bank three with 30 seconds left in the half to make the score 51-50. The score stayed close throughout the third with the lead staying WRCA’s way to go into the fourth up 53-50. Within the first 40 seconds of the fourth quarter, Mara drove the lane and got fouled for his fifth and disqualifying foul after Pierre stepped in for the charge. Pierre hit a three to tie the game for the first time with eight minutes left in the game. Spencer Sangara hit a three after a nice pass from grade nine guard Billy Cheng to put Palmer ahead 61-55 with five minutes to go. Pierre spun on his man and laid it in for two. Hare caught a nice pass from Cheng for a dunk. Dekoster hit a three on the next possession to bring WRCA within four points 65-61. Pierre took a charge when McLean had a clear lane to the basket that gave McLean his fourth foul in the game. Hare then caught a pass from Pierre for a turnaround jumper for two more to bring Palmers lead to 67-61. Dekoster scored on back-to-back takes to bring WRCA back to tie the game at 67 with 1:18 left. Brandon Tait was called for his fifth foul on an extremely controversial call that looked like it could have been a jump ball. Tonner Jackson of WRCA then went to the line and missed two crucial free throws, the ball came loose on Palmer’s end and players from both teams dove on the floor in what ended with a jump ball call. Palmers’ way. Sangara was fouled and went to the line, missed his first, made his second. Palmer advantage, 68-66. On the next play down, Dekoster drove the lane, and made a tricky bank shot from about eight feet out to tie the game at 68 with one second to go. Sangara couldn’t convert on the desperation three and the game was headed to overtime. Tonner Jackson was called for his fifth foul with just under five minutes to go at the start of extra time. Sangara then drove the lane, scored the bucket and got fouled. Dekoster hit a floater to put WRCA up with 2:30 to go 72-71. Dekoster then hit a three to bring the score to 75-71. Brian Fougner grabbed a Dekoster miss and scored for two more 77-71. Dekoster hit two huge foul shots to lead WRCA to the provincial championship 81-73. Player of the game went to Nick Dekoster of WRCA. Leading most of the way against Richmond’s R.C. Palmer Griffins, the Warriors lost their advantage late in the fourth quarter, rebounded to tie at the buzzer in regulation time, then went on to an overtime win. Point guard Nick DeKoster was the hero, tying the game at 68-68 on a driving layup with one second left in regulation time, then hitting a key three-point shot late in the five-minute overtime before 4,000 entertained fans at the PNE Agrodome. Scott Allen, White Rock’s head coach for the last 15 years, guided the Warriors to their fifth championship game berth. It was the second straight overtime win for the Warriors, who edged Vancouver’s Kitsilano Blue Demons 62-60 in the quarterfinals. “This is as much for coach Allen as it is for ourselves,” DeKoster said after scoring a game-high 29 points. “There’s seven senior [Grade 12] players on this team and most of us have been coached by Scott since Grade 7. He’s done so much for us in our development as players.” Allen said “it’s a fantastic feeling. Nick and Spencer have been two of our leaders all season. The difference for us tonight was that Nick was able to penetrate in the late minutes and get a couple of huge baskets. But this is a game that neither team deserved to lose, and I feel for [Palmer head coach] Paul Eberhardt.” Eberhardt said “we were one point away from the championship game with nine Grade 11 players on our roster. I’m exceptionally proud of my players, and just told them that in the dressing room.” White Rock led 36-33 at halftime, but head to weather a determined Griffins’ comeback in the second half. The Griffins never led until 6:04 remaining in the fourth quarter — and after the Warriors lost guards Eli Mara and Iain Con to their fifth and disqualifying fouls. Then the Warriors lost their third guard, Tonner Jackson, to his disqualifying foul early in overtime. “Our bench has been fantastic in this tournament,” said DeKoster. “Our bench guys were a big factor in our win over Kits, and they were again tonight.” Under Allen’s stewardship, the Warriors moved from single-A classification to AAA in 1998. They were B.C. championship game winners in 1999, 2003 and 2005, and losing finalists in 2001. The semi was a rematch of the 2007 Sweet 16 matchup which the Warriors won 63-62 when Palmer’s Akeem Pierre had his driving layup for the win sit on the rim and fall out at the buzzer. That plot line alone put Friday’s sequel in tough company in terms of living up to the pre-game hype, but amazingly, the 2008 rematch far out-stripped its original. It started in the first half when Palmer point guard Spencer Sangara took an accidental poke-swipe in the eye and nose, leaving a trail of blood that several PNE attendants spent the halftime break scrubbing off the edges of the court and along Sangara’s path to the first aid station. Then in the third quarter, key Griffins’ reserve Mark Kol suffered a knee injury that forced him to be carried off the court. He did not return. With 16.3 seconds left in regulation, Palmer’s star post Aran Hare ended up in a freak collision with teammate Matt Madewan, knocking both starters to the floor and forcing Hare to leave the game with the Richmond school leading 68-66. Hare never returned and WRCA hero Nick DeKoster drove the paint and got a floating runner to fall with one second remaining to send the game to overtime. DeKoster later suffered a concussion in a collision with Palmer’s Jas Dhari that left his status for Saturday’s game in question. “Every possible bad break that could have happened to us, happened to us today,” said Palmer head coach Paul Eberhardt who also lost the services of starter Aman Bindra and key reserve Brandon Tait to fouls. “I’ve never seen anything like it in my life.” The Warriors had to battle down the stretch without starters Eli Mara and Ian Con, both of whom also fouled out of a game which featured a combined 60 personal fouls and 71 combined free throw attempts. Added WRCA’s Allen: “Palmer? My gut wrenches for them right now. But I think this game says a lot about the physicality that Paul and I teach in the game, and that you have to be willing to step in there and get dirty.” It was a sentiment shared by both coaches. DeKoster scored 16 of his game-high 29 points in the fourth quarter and overtime, not only sending the game to an extra session with his floater, but hitting the dagger trey in OT with 2:00 remaining that put the Warriors ahead to stay at 75-71. “It’s Grade 12s,” said Allen of DeKoster and forward Spencer McLean who finished with 25 points and 13 rebounds. “To win here, you need Grade 12s and our guys really stepped up today with Spencer and Nick. They combined for 54 points and other guys took timely charges. We just did a great job of locking down on the fundamentals.” If the Griffins locked down on anything, it was the franchise rights to bad luck. Hare, the 6-foot-7 Grade 11 pivot, had been held to just 10 points and five field goal attempts over the entire first half. Yet when the Griffins went with a basic four-out, single-post look in the second half, Hare came to life and proceeded to score 15 points, bringing his team back and even pushing them out to a seven-point lead (65-58) when he laid down a dunk with 4:19 left in regulation. Palmer had trailed by as many as 12 points in the opening half. With the play of both Hare and Pierre (26 points, 13 rebounds, six assists) coming down the stretch drive of the fourth quarter, the Griffins were the ones in control. But WRCA’s senior-laden resolve, and the freakish nature of Hare’s injury sunk their hopes. “Bindra fouls out on a blocking call, then Brandon gets his fifth, and then with (16 seconds) left, Aran and Matt collide and hit their heads. And it’s bad. I don’t think Aran will be able to play (Saturday) in the (third-place game). He’s concussed. I was looking around and thinking ‘Oh God, I have no one else left to play in this game.’” That much was evidenced by WRCA’s game-closing drive. After Sangara completed an and-one play 91 seconds into the extra session to put the Griffins ahead 71-69, the Warriors finished up by scoring 12 of the contest’s final 14 points. “We were one second away from being in the championship game with nine Grade 11s on the team,” said Eberhardt. “I am exceptionally proud of them. I am going to start crying. I told them before the game that when we were in the locker room after the game, I didn’t give a care what the final score said, only that I could say ‘You went to war, you gave every ounce of courage and energy that you had.’ If that happened, I was going to be proud of them. We deserved and earned (the right) to be in the final game, but sometimes like in life, the breaks go the other way and that’s what happened to us today.” Allen was so proud of his team’s effort to rally from a second-half deficit: “We could have tucked our tails between our legs, but instead, we just came out and played.” In a brutally physical game they led by as many as 12, and trailed by as many as seven late in the fourth quarter – the Warriors prevailed again in overtime. WRCA earned the win without a slew of starters at the end of the game – Eli Mara, Tonner Jackson and Iain Con all fouled out in either the fourth quarter or extra frame. In their stead, the Warriors leaned on two seniors, Spencer McLean and Nick DeKoster, the latter of whom was named game MVP for the second straight day. McLean was a monster in the early stages of the game, scoring 15 of his 25 points in the first half, while adding 13 rebounds. DeKoster, who played all 45 minutes – was the go-to guy in the fourth quarter and overtime, and finished with 29 points and seven boards. The Griffins weren’t without their troubles either, as they essentially ran out of bodies by game’s end, with a handful of key players on the sidelines – Aran Hare and Mark Kol out with injuries, while Aman Bindra and Brandon Tait fouled out. R.C. Palmer guard Spencer Sangara also missed significant time after being bloodied by an inadvertent hand to the face from DeKoster. Also on the injury front, White Rock’s DeKoster was hurt at the end of the game, and though he stayed on the court for the final seconds, he was examined afterwards for a possible concussion. Apparently carrying over their energy from the previous night’s big win, the Warriors jumped out to an early 18-6, but, once the Griffins’ shooters finally warmed up, had just a three-point lead at the break. Led by Hare and UBC-bound guard Akeem Pierre, the Griffins tried valiantly to catch up in the second half, but couldn’t take the lead until late in the fourth. Not to be outdone, the plucky Warriors fought back in the final three minutes to tie the game, the final basket coming on a DeKoster baseline layup. With so many players fouled out or hurt, the extra session was essentially a game of survival, and WRCA took advantage of the undermanned Griffins. It was the second straight year the Griffins dropped a heartbreaker to the Warriors in the provincial championships. Last year, WRCA beat Palmer in the quarter-finals by a single point, when Pierre’s last-second lay-in rimmed out. Nick DeKoster paced the Warriors with 29 points on 10-24 from the floor, 5-10 from the arc, 4-6 from the line and 7 boards. Spencer McLean scored 25 on 6-18 from the floor, 13-16 from the line and 23 boards. Iain Con scored 9 on 1-3 from the floor and 7-10 from the line. Tonner Jackson notched 6 on 3-10 from the floor, 6 boards and 3 assists. Eli Mara scored 6 on 3-5 from the floor, 2 assists and 2 steals. Brian Fougner scored 3 and Will Conn, while nabbing 5 boards. Pascal Doppenberg, Alex Morrison, Joel Schat, Riley Barker, Colin Weeres, Andrew Williams, Blair Johnson, Sam Short, Tyus Allen, Shaylen Buis and Erik Fougner were scoreless. The Warriors shot 25-66 (.379) from the floor, 5-20 from the arc and 26-38 (.684) from the line, while garnering 51 boards, including 16 on the offensive glass, 32 fouls, 9 assists, 16 turnovers and 4 steals. Akeem Pierre paced R.C. Palmer with 26 points on 7-19 from the floor, 3-8 from the arc, 9-16 from the line, 13 boards and 6 assists. Aran Hare scored 25 on 9-14 from the floor, 1-1 from the arc, 6-8 from the line, 8 boards and 4 blocks. Spencer Sangara added 12 on 3-10 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc, 5-7 from the line and 2 steals. Mark Kol notched 2, Matt Madewan 2, Brandon Tait 2, Billy Cheng 2 and the team 2, while Tim Yu, Daniel Siu, Amandeep Bath, Jas Dhari, Jeevan Janda, Donjie Quisido, Aman Bindra, Martin Karadzaic, Mike Zayas and Eric Yang were scoreless. The Griffins shot 23-64 (.359) from the floor, 5-24 (.208) from the arc and 22-33 (.667) from the line, while garnering 42 boards, including 11 on the offensive glass, 28 fouls, 12 assists, 20 turnovers, 4 blocks and 6 steals.

        In the other semi, the Abbotsford Yale Lions nipped the Vancouver College Fighting Irish 67-65. The Fighting Irish got 11 points out of the big man inside, Marc Trasolini to go up 21-17 at the end of the first quarter. They continued to pour on the points and extended their lead to 39-29 at halftime. Trasolini made a nice wrap around pass inside to Spencer Whitlock early in the third, but from then on, the scoring didn’t come easily for Vancouver College, while the Lions found their points from post Jasper Moedt and cut the Fighting Irish lead that was once 17 down to five, 55-49 heading into the fourth. In the final quarter of play, Trasolini made a huge block on Yale’s Joel Friesen but received his fourth foul after he was called for a technical because of taunting. Friesen made both free throws and Yale went on to score two more to make the game 64-58. With 1:38 left in the game, Brad Kufske hit two clutch free throws and then on the next possession hit one more to bring the game within three points 64-61. Josh Kufske received an inbounds pass for two and then younger brother Brad hit a nice baseline floater. But the play of the night came from point guard Caleb Klassen, who stole the ball, went the length of the floor and laid it in over 6’8 Trasolini to put Yale ahead for the first and final time of the night to steal the win. Point guard Caleb Klassen played the hero, coming up with a steal in the dying seconds and racing coast-to-coast to break a 65-65 tie with just 0.9 seconds left on the clock. Klassen’s layup over Van College’s six-foot-eight centre Marc Trasolini danced around the rim and flirted briefly with the backboard before finally dropping through. “We’re playing in the finals,” Klassen marveled afterward, almost in a state of disbelief himself. “It feels awesome. It’s pretty sweet.” Vancouver College had their way in the early going, aided by the fact that Yale stars Josh Kufske and Joel Friesen watched the vast majority of the first half from the bench due to foul trouble. Lions centre Jasper Moedt seemed to be the only player on his team playing with much confidence in the opening 20 minutes as the Irish built a 39-29 lead at the break. In the second half, Van College came out and extended the lead to 16 points on a Braeden Ralla basket. The Lions calmed down and played with more poise at that point, trimming the Irish lead to four points early in the fourth quarter, but Van College responded with a mini-run of their own to rebuild their margin to 64-54 on a Trasolini basket with 3:45 left. Disaster struck for the Irish on the next Yale possession. Lions guard Brad Kufske drove the left baseline, only to have his jump shot emphatically rejected by Trasolini to ignite a three-on-one fast break for the Irish. As the play moved upcourt, though, Trasolini taunted the fallen Kufske and was whistled for a technical foul. Friesen swished both foul shots, and Josh Kufske drained a jump shot on the ensuing possession. Van College’s missed fast-break opportunity, combined with Yale’s sudden four-point spurt, constituted a six-point swing that trimmed the Irish cushion to 64-58. Yale proceeded to rattle off a 7-1 run, capped by a Brad Kufske baseline leaner with 31 seconds left to knot the score at 65-65. That set the stage for Klassen’s heroics. “Their guy (Irish point guard Restie Provido) drove into the middle of the key and I just stuck my hand out, got lucky and stripped the ball,” Klassen recounted. “I tried not to concentrate on Traz. I knew he was going to try to block me, so I just went up hard and tried to lay it in. I can’t even take the glory for it. It’s all the man upstairs, God.” The player of the game honour was awarded to Jasper Moedt of Yale, who scored 21 on 9-16 from the floor, 3-4 from the line, 13 boards and 2 blocks. Joel Friesen added 15 on 5-11 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 4-6 from the line, 4 boards, 3 assists and 3 steals. Brad Kufske scored 11 on 3-13 from the floor, 2-4 from the arc, 3-4 from the line, 10 boards and 3 steals. Caleb Klassen notched 8 on 4-11 from the floor and 3 steals. Josh Kufske scored 8 on 4-9 from the floor, 4 boards and 2 steals. David Thompson scored 2 and Nathan Kendall 2, while Chris Schmidtke, Brandon Korad, Odayne Roberts, Mike Verhuel, Kees vanLeeuwen, Merrick Klassen, Ian Perry, Jordan Brown, Tristan Gruenthaler and David Busswood were scoreless. The Lions shot 27-68 (.397) from the floor, 3-11 (.273) from the arc and 10-16 (.625) from the line, while garnering 45 boards, including 19 on the offensive glass, 17 fouls, 15 assists, 18 turnovers, 4 blocks and 13 steals. Marc Trasolini paced Vancouver College with 21 on 9-15 from the floor, 3-5 from the line, 8 boards, 3 assists, 3 blocks and 3 steals. Thomas Scrubb added 13 on 6-13 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 6 boards and 2 steals. Will Campbell scored 8 on 3-8 from the floor and 1-3 from the arc. Spencer Whitlock notched 6 on 3-5 from the floor, 8 boards and 2 steals. Phillip Scrubb scored 6 on 3-6 from the floor and 4 boards. Braden Ralla added 4, Pardeep Bains 3, Restie Provido 2, along with 6 assists and 2 steals, and Harrison Mair 2, while Matt McTaggart, Miguel Ramirez, Baltej Basra, Farris Tyab, Chris Armstrong, Rodan Rabanq and Sam Williams were scoreless. The Fighting Irish shot 28-64 (.438) from the field, 2-11 (.182) from the arc and 7-13 (.538) from the line, while garnering 40 boards, including 14 on the offensive glass, 18 fouls, 16 assists, 18 turnovers, 4 blocks and 10 steals.

        In the bronze medal match, the Vancouver College Fighting Irish defeated the Richmond R.C. Palmer Griffins 73-47. Palmer suffered numerous injuries in their semi-final match against WRCA including: Spencer Sangara (broken noise) Billy Cheng (hyper extended left arm) and Aran Hare (concussion), all players that have made a significant impact throughout the tournament. With the two semi-final matches going down to the wire and both teams emotionally drained by devastating losses the night before, the first quarter was less than exhilarating with a score of 21-10 favouring the Fighting Irish heading into the second quarter of play. At the end of the first half Vancouver College had the lead 37-22. The Fighting Irish continued to pour on the points in the third and fourth quarters. Marc Trasolini was awarded player of the game. “It was a chance to show character,” said Vancouver College head coach Jon Tagulao. “Last night we played a great game against a great team and had a bad bounce, that happens in life sometimes.” Vancouver College pushed the ball up the floor without remorse against Palmer, jumping out to the early lead. “Champions get up off the mat and keep fighting,” said Tagulao. Their opponents didn’t have a chance. The Griffins had a group on the floor that couldn’t compete with the powerhouse. Shorthanded thanks to Aran Hare’s injury, the team had no answer for the powerful Marc Trasolini or the lanky Thomas Scrubb. Palmer didn’t have its usual intensity. At the end of the first quarter the Irish led 21-10 and the game looked in hand. Just as it looked like the Griffins were picking up momentum, Pierre cut his finger on the rim and had to sit out the remainder of the half while he was stitched up. At the end of the half not much had changed, Vancouver College seemed content with their lead. Vancouver College was superior in every facet, opening the half on a 14-3 run to make the lead 51-25. “It was tough to rebound from last night but knowing it was our last game together, we were playing for each other,” said Vancouver College guard Braeden Ralla. Without their full complement of players, the Griffins weren’t able to cut into the lead and a lack of depth ate away at them. The third came to a close with a 56-36 Vancouver College lead, and as expected they continued that roll into the last quarter of play. Vancouver College emptied their bench but made sure the four seniors, Ralla, Restie Provido, Matt McTaggart and Trasolini were on the floor as the game came to a close. “The seniors did a great job leading and being role models,” said Tagulao. The Irish were happy to be able to finish the season with a win. “Our high school dream was to win a provincial championship but last night we realized that couldn’t happen and we ended on a good note tonight,” said Ralla. Marc Trasolini paced Vancouver College with 23 on 7-16 from the floor, 1-1 from the arc, 8-10 from the line, 17 boards, 5 blocks and 2 steals. Restie Provido added 14 on 6-12 from the floor and 2-5 from the arc. Braeden Ralla scored 10 on 3-5 from the floor, 4-4 from the line and 4 boards. Thomas Scrubb notched 8 on 4-9 from the floor and 6 boards. Will Campbell scored 6 on 2-5 from the floor, 1-1 from the arc and 1-2 from the line. Matt McTaggart scored 5 on 1-4 from the floor and 1-3 from the arc. Pardeep Bains added 4, Spencer Whitlock 2 and Chris Armstrong 1, while Miguel Ramirez, Harrison Mair, Baltej Basra, Farris Tyab, Phillip Scrubb, Rodan Rabanq and Sam Williams were scoreless. The Fighting Irish shot 26-67 (.388) from the floor, 5-15 from the arc and 16-20 (.800) from the line, while garnering 57 boards, including 22 on the offensive glass, 20 fouls, 15 assists, 21 turnovers, 5 blocks and 8 steals. Akeem Pierre led R.C. Palmer with 15 on 5-18 from the floor, 1-6 from the arc, 4-6 from the line and 6 boards. Spencer Sangara added 11 on 4-10 from the floor and 3-3 from the line. Matt Madewan scored 7 on 1-4 from the floor, 5-7 from the line and 7 boards. Mark Kol scored 7 on 2-3 from the floor and 1-2 from the line. Mike Zayas added 4, Amandeep Bath 2 and Jeevan Janda 1, while Tim Yu, Daniel Siu, Jas Dhari, Donjie Quisido, Aman Bindra, Aran Hare, Brandon Tait, Martin Karadzic, Billy Cheng and Eric Yang were scoreless. Tait nabbed 7 boards. The Griffins (coached by Paul Eberhart, assisted by Ryan Strachan) shot 15-59 (.254) from the floor, 3-25 (.120) from the arc and 14-26 (.538) from the line, while garnering 36 boards, including 14 on the offensive glass, 13 fouls, 7 assists, 21 turnovers, 3 blocks and 9 steals.

In the final, the Abbotsford Yale Lions defeated the Surrey White Rock Christian Academy Warriors 76-62. From the opening tip, every fan could tell that the game would go down to the wire as both teams played evenly matched basketball. The first quarter was full of lead changes and big shots, but the Lions took the upper hand heading into the second, 21-19. Nick Dekoster and Brian Fougner of WRCA each picked up two fouls, while Yale’s Joel Friesen scored 12 points but also picked up two fouls. The game continued to stay close in the second quarter. Things started to look good for White Rock when Friesen, Yale’s leading scorer with 17 points at that point, picked up his third foul with just under five minutes to go and was forced to sit for the rest of the half. With their leading scorer on the bench, Yale managed to hold on to their lead with a slight 2-point advantage at the break (37-35). Friesen started out the third quarter right where he left off, nailing a three and drawing the third foul on Dekoster and followed that with a baby hook inside for two more. Jasper Moedt of Yale was sent to the bench within just three minutes after being called for his third foul. WRCA’s driving force of the tournament point guard, Dekoster was called for his fourth foul, just over halfway through the third and Yale increased their lead 54-44. Mara was called for his fourth foul and then Friesen hit a three from the corner off an inbounds play to make the game 61-45 for Yale, heading into the final quarter of play. Tonner Jackson grabbed an offensive rebound and then drove the lane and drew a Moedt foul for two free throws at the beginning of the fourth. Friesen picked up his fourth foul after a turnover with 8:51 to go and the score 61-49. WRCA defensive stopper Iain Con was charged with his fifth and disqualifying foul with over eight minutes to play. Friesen grabbed a defensive rebound, started to drive down the floor but Mara stepped in his way and Friesen was called for his fifth foul after scoring 29 points in the game. Brad Kufske hit a three and then got a steal for a layup. On the next play down Moedt was called for his fifth foul. Dekoster hit a three with 4:30 to play in the game to bring Yale’s’ lead down to 66-56 but on the next play down Mara was called for his fifth foul. WRCA turned it up on the defensive end and forced Yale into a five second call, then Will Con hit a short jumper. Caleb Klassen was then fouled while bringing the ball up and made his first of two. Klassen, who’s Yale’s main ball handler and overall floor general, was then called for his fifth foul, but back up Odayne Roberts filled in and came up with a huge steal and kept the offense composed for the rest of the game. With 1:02 left WRCA top scorer Tonner Jackson fouled out after putting up 19 points and grabbing seven rebounds. Josh Kufske grabbed a huge rebound after a missed free throw and converted for two more while also extending the Yale lead enough for a defeat of WRCA. Yale’s Joel Friesen was awarded player of the final game. Abbotsford’s Yale Lions rode a game-high 29-point performance by small forward Joel Friesen to a 76-62 triumph over the White Rock Christian Warriors tonight in the championship game of the 63rd B.C. boy’s AAA high school basketball tournament. Friesen, who was in foul trouble most of the second half and was forced to the bench with his fifth and disqualifying foul with 6:47 remaining, nevertheless put on a dazzling performance before an estimated 4,000 fans at the PNE Agrodome. It was Yale’s first B.C. championship in its fifth appearance in the provincial finals. Yale led 37-35 at halftime, and Friesen was the difference in the narrow margin. The athletic 6’3”, 190-pound forward paced all shooters in the first half with 17 points and forced the Warriors to take several fouls with his regular drives into the key. Friesen’s first-half total included five points from the free-throw line in eight trips. But he also ran into foul trouble in the half. He was whistled for his third foul with 4:32 remaining in the second quarter and with the Lions holding a 32-26 lead. Yale raced to a 61-45 advantage after the third quarter as White Rock also ran into foul trouble. Two Warriors starters were whistled for their fourth fouls in the quarter and three others were also playing more cautiously with three fouls each. That opened the door for a superb third quarter performance by Lions forward Josh Kufske. He scored nine points and pulled down four rebounds, leading the Lions to their relatively comfortable lead heading into the final period. White Rock’s foul troubles continued in the final quarter, as guards Iain Con and Eli Mara were whistled for their fifth infractions and No. 6 man Brian Fougner also fouled out. Yale came into the B.C. championship as Fraser Valley zone champions and with only one loss to a Canadian opponent this season — 70-63 to White Rock in the semifinal round of the Western Canada invitational tournament in Kelowna in early February. White Rock was playing in its 10th tournament since the school moved up from single-A classification to AAA in 1998. The Warriors won provincial titles in 1999, 2003 and 2005 and were title-game finalists in 2001, but lost to Vancouver’s Kitsilano Blue Demons. Yale trailed the entire way in its semifinal, but stole the game when guard Caleb Klassen stole the ball and raced the length of the court to sink a layup with nine-tenths of a second remaining. Afterwards, the buzz in the Agrodome was palpable. Lions’ head coach Al Friesen admitted it was hard to forget last season’s loss to the Irish in the quarterfinal round, a game in which his team led virtually the entire way only to lose in the final 90 seconds behind the magic of Vancouver College star forward Marc Trasolini. That game was tied at 51-51 with 1:29 remaining when Trasolini took over the contest and led his team into the Final Four with 21 points in a 59-54 Irish win. “Remember last year?” Friesen said in the aftermath of Yale’s dramatic win on Friday. “We led the whole game and lost at the end, so tonight I thought, ‘You know, I think we can do this. It’s our turn.” It’s a sentiment much easier said with the drama complete and in Yale’s favor. Make no mistake about it, this was Vancouver College’s game to win. But it slowly slipped through their fingers and in the end, they couldn’t stop the momentum built by a patient and disciplined Lions team. Consider that when Braden Ralla scored for the Irish with 6:39 remaining in the third quarter, Vancouver College was in total command with a 16-point lead at 47-31. Also consider that with 3:45 left in the game, they led 64-54 after a Trasolini bucket. Yet intersperse five turnovers along with a technical foul whistled against Trasolini whose emotion got the best of him down the stretch, and you had enough cracks in the foundation to set up one of the most dramatic final possessions in tourney history. Restie Provido of the Irish drove into the Yale defence and Caleb Klassen knocked it free, driving 70 feet down court to somehow get — with Irish defenders in hot pursuit — the winning layup to fall with 0.9 seconds left on the clock. Yale had either been tied or trailed the prior 39 minutes and 59 seconds of play. “The time out before I said ‘We have gone after every loose ball and so had they and everyone seemed to be theirs’,” said Friesen. “So, I said: ‘Guys, let the next one be ours and something good will happen’.” Klassen made that happen. “Caleb saw it and he is an explosive runner, but it was one lucky bounce off the rim,” laughed Friesen. “It bounced and bounced and it went in.” Ending a marathon night of classic basketball. “When they came to this school in Grade 8, all of us as coaches looked at each other and said, ‘We’re going to win a championship with this group,’ and it happened,” said Friesen. And the key Saturday night, as it has been all season, was the Lions’ depth. Senior swingman Joel Friesen — selected as the tournament MVP — had sizzled both inside and out, but had also battled foul trouble all evening and when he took his fifth and disqualifying foul with 6:47 left in the game and his team leading by 10 points, the Lions faced their biggest hurdle of the evening. Yet losing a player who had scored a game-high 29 points was never an issue with the Lions. Instead, players like David Thompson, Odayne Roberts and Nathan Kendall stepped up their roles down the stretch and the Lions were able to weather the storm, holding off the Warriors, who got to within eight points at 67-59 with 3:32 remaining. “We have more players than the starting five,” said Friesen, whose first group was nonetheless its usual solid self, including the Kufske brothers. “We’ve got a really good group of kids and they are not scared to play,” a proud Friesen said. In the aftermath of their 76-62 victory over the White Rock Christian Warriors at the PNE Agrodome on Saturday, the Yale Lions were awash with the spoils of victory. There was Lions forward Josh Kufske, hugging well-wishers while sporting freshly snipped mesh from the Agrodome’s south hoop. Centre Jasper Moedt was fielding questions from the media while wearing the championship banner around his neck like an overgrown necktie. The most hardware-laden Lion by far, guard Joel Friesen, was wandering around with a gold medal around his neck and the game ball tucked under his arm. Nearby, a folding chair was creaking under the weight of his tournament MVP trophy. But despite the overwhelming physical evidence surrounding him, Friesen was having a hard time coming to grips with his new reality: The Yale Lions are provincial champions. “I’m pretty shocked,” admitted Friesen, who poured in a game-high 29 points in the final. “I used to come and watch provincials back in Grade 9 and 10, and I was just like, ‘Wow, these guys are so good.’ Now we’re champions, and it feels great.” In the end, Saturday’s final seemed almost anticlimactic after Yale’s stunning come-from-behind victory over the Vancouver College Fighting Irish on Friday night, as the Lions were more clinical than dominant in disposing of White Rock Christian. At 5:42 of the first quarter, Friesen swished a pair of free throws to give his team 9-8 lead, and while the Lions would never trail from that point on, the resilient Warriors managed to stay within striking distance for most of the evening. Yale’s lead was a slender two points at halftime, but the Lions generated some breathing room by closing the third quarter on a 17-5 run to carry a 61-45 cushion into the fourth quarter. Even then, White Rock Christian refused to go down without a fight. Lions fans had some anxious moments in the late going as both Friesen and Moedt fouled out with more than five minutes remaining in the contest. Point guard Caleb Klassen joined them on the bench when he picked up his fifth foul with 2:15 to play. The Warriors were within striking distance at that point, trailing 69-61, but Josh Kufske and his younger brother Brad combined for seven points in the waning moments to salt away Yale’s first provincial AAA boys’ basketball title. The Lions are the first Abbotsford team to accomplish the feat since the 1983 Abbotsford Senior Panthers. Defeating White Rock Christian in the final was sweet for the Lions, as the Warriors had been the only Canadian team to beat them this year. Yale dropped a 70-63 decision to White Rock in the semifinals of the Western Canada Tournament in Kelowna on Feb. 8, knocking them from the No. 1 provincial ranking that they’d held since the beginning of the season. “It definitely brings the season full circle,” Moedt said of beating the Warriors. “There’s no debate who the best team in the province was this year.” “I’m pretty shocked,” admitted Friesen. “I used to come and watch provincials back in Grade 9 and 10, and I was just like, ‘Wow, these guys are so good.’ Now we’re champions, and it feels great.” Moedt said “it definitely brings the season full circle. There’s no debate who the best team in the province was this year.” Joel Friesen paced Yale with 29 on 8-15 from the floor, 4-6 from the arc, 9-13 from the line and 2 steals. Brad Kufske added 19 on 6-14 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc, 6-12 from the line and 10 boards. Josh Kufske scored 14 on 6-9 from the floor, 2-4 from the line and 19 boards. Caleb Klassen notched 6 on 1-5 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 3-4 from the line, 5 boards and 3 steals. Jasper Moedt scored 6 on 2-3 from the floor and 5 boards. Nathan Kendall added 2, while Chris Schmidtke, Brandon Konrad, Odayne Roberts, Mike Verhuel, David Thompson, Kees VanLeeuwen, Merrick Klassen, Ian Perry, Jordan Brown, Tristan Gruenthaler and David Busswood were scoreless. The Lions shot 24-51 (.471) from the floor, 6-14 (.429) from the arc and 22-41 (.537) from the line, while garnering 48 boards, including 11 on the offensive glass, 23 fouls, 11 assists, 17 turnovers and 10 steals. Tonner Jackson paced White Rock with 19 points on 5-14 from the floor, 1-6 from the arc, 8-10 from the line and 7 boards. Eli Mara added 14 on 6-13 from the floor, 2-3 from the line, 5 boards and 2 steals. Spencer McLean scored 12 on 3-14 from the floor, 1-6 from the arc, 5-7 from the line and 5 boards. Alex Morrison notched 7 on 3-7 from the floor. Nick DeKoster scored 4 on 1-10 from the floor and 6 boards. Brian Fougner added 2, Iain Con 2, along with 5 boards, and Will Con 2. Pascal Doppenberg, Joel Schat, Riley Barker, Colin Weeres, Andrew Williams, Blair Johnston, Sam Short, Tyus Allen, Shaylen Buis and Erik Fougner were scoreless. The Warriors shot 20-67 (.299) from the floor, 4-25 (.160) from the arc and 18-24 (.750) from the line, while garnering 40 boards, including 14 on the offensive glass, 30 fouls, 8 assists, 18 turnovers, 2 blocks and 6 steals.

The bronze medalist Vancouver College Fighting Irish: Marc Trasolini; Thomas Scrubb; Spencer Whitlock; Will Campbell; Restie Provido; Pardeep Bains; Braeden Ralla; Matt McTaggart; Miguel Ramirez; Harrison Mair; Baltej Basra; Chris Armstrong; Phillip Scrubb; Rodan Rabany; Sam Williams; coach Jon Tagulao; assistant Tally Sweiss; assistant Gerald Cole

        The silver medalist Surrey White Rock Christian Academy Warriors: Nick DeKoster Eli Mara; Spencer McLean; Iain Con; Joel Schat; Tonner Jackson; Pascal Doppenberg; Brian Fougner; Alex Morrison; Riley Barker; Will Con; Colin Weeres; Andrew Williams; Blair Johnston; Sam Short; Tyus Allen; Shaylen Buis; Eric Fougner; coach Scott Allen; assistant Ron Walker; assistant Jon Mara; assistant Dale Shury; assistant Cal Wirch

The gold medalist Abbotsford Yale Lions: Brad Kufske; Josh Kufske; Joel Friesen; Caleb Klassen; Jasper Moedt; Chris Schmidtke; Brandon Konrad; Odayne Roberts; Mike Verhuel; David Thompson; Nathan Kendall; Kees VanLeeuwen; Alex Flores; Ian Perry; Jordan Brown; Tristan Gruenthaler; David Busswood; coach Al Friesen; assistant Euan Roberts; assistant Dave Klassen; assistant Ryan Sedore