In the opening round, held in Aldergrove: …………………………………………………… The Agassiz Chieftains dumped the Creston Prince Charles Comets 87-66 as Dave Dyck scored 26 and nabbed 20 boards. The Comets included Larry Hills, Mike Doyle. ………………………………………………… The top-seeded Vanderhoof Nechako Valley Vikings stomped the 16th-seeded Smithers Gryphons 116-53. “The boys played really well,” Vikings coach Mike Murphy told the Prince George Citizen. “They were pretty nervous at first — there are only two kids with provincial experience — but they passed the ball really well and scored a lot of layups.” Chris Brinnen led the Vikings with 31. Evan Mueller added 19 and Cam Smith 18. The Gryphons (coached by Joe Toner) included Ilya Biniowski, Mike Cromer, Rich Lester, Derek Holland, Campbell Watt. ………………………………………………… The Langley Aldergrove Totems edged the Vernon Clarence Fulton Maroons 84-81. The Maroons (coached by Gary Davidson) included Robert Aziani, Todd Dulaba, Jason Beck, Andre St. Godard. ………………………………………………… Kelowna Spring Valley nipped the Ladysmith 49ers 71-68 as Andrew Lauvaan scored 26 and Chuck Woodward 22. Greg Pierce led the 49ers with 40. The 49ers led 18-10, 32-31 and 50-48 at the quarters. Ladysmith coach Randy Steel told the Nanaimo Daily News “they had two big guys we couldn’t handle. They were hitting three-pointers from everywhere. They were a good squad. Greg Pierce scored 40 for us and you just can’t have one man scoring and hope to win.” The 49ers also included Larry Hills, Mike Lidgate, Ed Mulrooney, Garrett Smith, Rob Rice, Dan Gollan. ………………………………………………… The Namaimo John Barsby Blazers pounded the Summerland Rockets 91-61 as Bogie Dhasi scored 26, Shawn King 16, Tony Bryce 15, Peter Presotto 10, Bob Wyse 10 and John Van Horne 8. Travis Kubin led the Rockets with 18. Jeff Plitt added 16 and Darcy Lafleur 12. The Blazers led 36-31 at the half and 59-48 after three quarters. Blazers coach Bob Corbett told the Nanaimo Daily News “we played the best game we’ve played in a while … We controlled the boards (50 rebounds).” ………………………………………………… The Surrey Holy Cross Crusaders nipped the Vancouver St. Patrick’s Celtics 60-58. The Celtics included Dan Barata, Andrew Barfoot. ………………………………………………… The Kelowna K.L.O. Cougars clubbed the Grand Forks Wolves 123-57. The Wolves included Lee Clark. ………………………………………………… The Squamish Howe Sound Sounders defeated the Campbell River Robron Breakers 63-54. The Breakers included John Murray.
In the quarterfinals, held in Aldergrove and Langley, the Agassiz Chieftains dumped Kelowna Spring Valley 94-78 as Shane Rogers scored 36 and David Dyck 21. Chuck Woodward led Spring Valley with 30. Spring Valley led 40-20 in the first half. Spring Valley also included Andrew Lauman.
The Vanderhoof Nechako Valley Vikings clubbed the Aldergrove Totems 87-46. “Joel Mueller (a Grade 9 player) really sparked us,” Vikings coach Mike Murphy told the Prince George Gazette. “The older guys are sometimes hesitant to shoot, but he just came off the bench and gave us a big lift when we needed it. … The whole team just played great. If we can hold the other teams to 46 points and play with that kind of intensity, we’re going to be hard to beat.” Chris Brinnen led the Vikings with 25. Evan Mueller added 24. Matt Stockbrocks led the Totems with 20. The Totems also included Corey Mutter.
The Kelowna K.L.O. Cougars defeated the Squamish Howe Sound Sounders 82-73 as Greg Wipple scored 18. Frank Fedorak led the Sounders with 34. The Sounders also included Ross Ballard.
In the last quarterfinal, the Nanaimo John Barsby Blazers clipped the Surrey Holy Cross Crusaders 73-64 as Bob Wyse scored 18. Mark Vander Zalm paced the Crusaders with 18. The Crusaders also included Ted Kingsland.
In the semis, the Agassiz Chieftains defeated the Kelowna K.L.O. Cougars 80-73 as Shayne Rogers scored 36 and nabbed 23 boards. Conrad Leine paced with 18. The Chieftains opened the second half with a 13-0 run.
In the other semi, the Nanaimo John Barsby Blazers, in its first year as a high school, defeated the top-seeded Vanderhoof Nechako Valley Vikings 86-84 in overtime as Bob Wyse scored 30, Tony Bryce 14, Shawn King 11, Bogie Dhasi 11 and Peter Presotto 2. Evan Mueller paced the Vikings with 35. Chris Brinnen added 24. “We had our chance to win it for sure,” Vikings coach Mike Murphy told the Prince George Citizen. “They just out-rebounded us and that was probably the key to the game.” The Vikings led 42-38 at the half. The score was knotted at 81 after regulation.
In the bronze medal match, the Kelowna K.L.O. Cougars dispatched the top-seeded Vanderhoof Nechako Valley Vikings 72-64 as Dave Robson scored 19. Chris Brinnen led the Vikings with 26. The Vikings (coached by Mike Murphy, assisted by Greg White) also included Evan Mueller, Cam Smith, Dan Cuevas, Brian Robertson, Jamie Fitzpatrick, Darron Campbell, Myron Friesen, Corey Shaw and Dan LaBrash.
In the final, the Agassiz Chieftains became only the third team in AA boy’s history to capture two consecutive crowns as they defeated the Nanaimo John Barsby Blazers 83-73 as Shane Rogers pumped in 41 (also reported as 44) and nabbed 18 boards. David Dyck added 17, Jason Watson 10, John Forde 8, Brian Pelletier 4 and Bryan Davis 3. Tony Bryce paced the Blazers with 20. Shawn King added 20, Peter Presotto 17, Bogie Dhasi 8, Bob Wyse 6 and Jackson 2. Bryce told the Nanaimo Daily News that “I’m happy that we came in as underdogs and finished so high but it hurts that we worked so long and hard all year and ended up losing in the final.” King said that “it was tough trying to stop them. It was a tough loss. We didn’t rebound and we didn’t hit our shots. … That’s about it.” Blazers coach Bob Corbett said “they definitely controlled the boards.” Chieftains coach Bob Watson said “I think we outworked them.”
The bronze medalist Kelowna K.L.O. Cougars: Conrad Leine; Greg Wipple;
The silver medalist Nanaimo John Barsby Blazers: Bob Wyse; Tony Bryce; Shawn King; Bogie Dhasi; Peter Presotto; Bob Jackson; John Van Horne; Bill Readings; Vance Borbandy; Ryan Orton; Mike Borden; Kevin Young; Alfred dick; coach Bob Corbett; manager Tara Hachey; manager Jennifer Lampman
The gold medalist Agassiz Chieftains: Shane Rogers; David Dyck; Brian Pelletier; Jason Watson; Andy Briscoe; Luke Pranger; Mike Enns; Bryan Davis; Duane Carscadden; John Forde; coach Bob Watson; assistant Rob Forde; manager Chris Spence; manager Andrew Kowalenko