In the opening round, held in Langley: …………………………………………………… The 8th-seeded Vancouver King David Lions dispatched the 9th-seeded Vanderhoof Northside Christian Northstars 80-75. The Northstars led 29-9, 43-30 and 58-56 at the quarters. Lions coach David Amram told Varsity Letters that his troops were unfazed by the early start. “The last two years, we’ve also had the 8:30 a.m. game, so this is not new for us. We’ve got a lot of experience with it, and the guys came out well.” Oliver Munt iced the win for the Lions with a critical rebound and free throws down the stretch. Oliver Munt led the Lions with 28, along with 10 boards. Yuval Jacob added 20, including 4 treys, Saul Khalifa 13, Roi Jankelowitz 6, Zevi Kline 6, Aviv David 4 and Israel Freeman 3, while Noah McNamara, Izack Kastiel, Avichai Mattuck, Benjamin Kraft, Joey Altow, Netanel Orzech, Sagiv Fadida and Nathan Guez were scoreless. The Lions hit 30-76 (.390) from the floor, 5-16 (.294) from the arc and 15-24 (.625) from the line, while garnering 35 boards, including 18 on the offensive glass, 25 fouls, 14 assists, 16 turnovers, 3 blocks and 10 steals. Kyle Bublitz paced the Northstars with 19. Kyle Unger added 18, Alex Duprut 17, along with 10 boards, Tyrel Ventin 11, Travis Dejax 3, Ethan Unger 3, Landon Wale 2 and Luke Fehr 2, while Kyle Dyck, Jared Bublitz, Bryce Giesbrecht and Avery Frey were scoreless. The Northstars (coached by Ian MacLeod, assisted by Mark Unger) hit 28-73 (.378) from the floor, 4-18 (.222) from the arc and 15-27 (.536) from the line, while garnering 32 boards, including 18 on the offensive glass, 16 fouls, 4 assists, 18 turnovers, 6 blocks and 10 steals. …………………………………………………… The 6th-seeded Keremeos Similkameen Sparks dusted the 11th-seeded Masset Gudangaay Tlaats’Gaa Nay Thunder 90-54 after leading 24-13, 47-27 and 73-44 at the quarters. The Sparks effectively pushed the temp. “We shoot the ball well, we move the ball well, we run well,” Similkameen coach Billy Potash told Varsity Letters. “That is our game.” Potash added that Gundagaay guard Devan Boyco is “real good, and he’s only in Grade 11 – he’ll be even better next year. It’s a long trip, and I thought they played well and played hard. For a while, we played well on defence and then let down. But essentially, we played our game.” Corbin Marsden paced the Sparks with 26, along with 16 boards. Tyson Douanpangya added 16, Armaan Dhaliwal 11, Jughrag Boparai 9, Dustin Frostad 7, Quinn Carignan 6, Hardiaap Bengag 5, Yan Peron 4, Pavi Kahlon 3 and Jacob Hibbs 3, while Jaxson Hibbs, Zack Riegling, Bobby Squakin and Carter Thompson were scoreless. The Sparks hit 36-77 (.468) from the floor, 12-34 (.353) from the arc and 6-11 (.545) from the line, while garnering 47 boards, including 19 on the offensive glass, 11 fouls, 9 assists, 22 turnovers, 2 blocks and 15 steals. Devan Boyko paced the Thunder with 34. Clarke Simonsen added 8, Desmond Selso 7, Schon Sjolund 4 and Sheldon Smith 1, while Dominic White, Clayton Marks, Adam Washington, Koyas Morrison and Brodie Williams-Brown were scoreless. The Thunder (coached by Calvin Westbrook) hit 24-75 (.320) from the floor, 4-29 (.138) from the arc and 2-4 from the line, while garnering 32 boards, including 13 on the offensive glass, 8 fouls, 8 assists, 23 turnovers, 3 blocks and 9 steals. …………………………………………………… The 4th-seeded Langley Credo Christian Kodiaks spanked the 13th-seeded Burnaby Deer Lake Falcons 80-61 after leading 22-14, 41-30 and 56-47 at the quarters. The Kodiaks appeared in total control before Falcon Ian Ma drained a trio from beyond the arc to draw Deer Lake within 47-44 midway through the third quarter. But Will Dykstra notched a layup and a pair of treys to rebuild the margin to double digits and the Kodiaks coasted to the win. “We came into a first-round game thinking things will be easy,” Kodiaks coach Justin Vanderploeg told Varsity Letters. “The guys were kind of playing it cool instead of wanting to get out there and play physical and win the game. Once they made that run, it made us realize, ‘Oh, we have to play.’ And after that, we started playing with a bit more intensity. Once we started playing the right way, it was fun to watch.” Vanderploeg said Dykstra has “been our leader, and he’s always there in those types of moments for us. He’s been our best player all year long, and best players do that.” Will Dykstra led the Kodiaks with 30. Anthony Vanderstoep added 15, Eliah Faragalla 11, Erik Sikma 8, along with 13 boards, Gavin Grim 8, Stephan Klein 5 and Caleb Bos 3, while Sam Leyenhorst, Sam Tiggelaar, Jordan Krabbendam, Luke Levenhorst, Ryan Hoogstra and Levin Vandeburgt were scoreless. The Kodiaks hit 31-74 (.419) from the floor, 8-18 (.444) from the arc and 10-17 (.588) from the line, while garnering 39 boards, including 12 on the offensive glass, 14 fouls, 13 turnovers, 4 blocks and 12 steals. Kevin Ferrufino paced the Falcons with 28, along with 20 boards. Ian Ma added 16, Michael Mvundura 10, Renz Tingson 5 and Rahul Gupta 2, while Ethan Yu, Kohner Walkus, Tristan Gudoy, Joel Bernard, Vincent Malagar, Moises Macadangdang, Marcus ‘Charles’ Tsang and Kevin Xing were scoreless. The Falcons (coached by Chris Pedro, assisted by Randy Adusei) hit 23-79 (.291) from the floor, 9-26 (.346) from the arc and 6-10 from the line, while garnering 45 boards, including 17 on the offensive glass, 14 fouls, 2 assists, 17 turnovers and 5 steals. …………………………………………………… The 5th-seeded Vernon Christian Royals clipped the 12th-seeded Nanaimo Christian Trail Blazers 61-48 after leading 21-13, 29-27 and 45-32 at the quarters. Royals coach Robere Gingras told Varsity Letters that playing in a big gym proved intimidating to his troops early. “It’s one of those vibes for us. We hosted the Valleys this year, and we don’t even host in our own gym because it’s too small – it’s got no sideline. One thing I was worried about coming in here was the whole atmosphere. We’re not used to this, we’ve never been here … I was worried about our boys being overwhelmed and out of sorts, and that certainly was the case today. … It was a struggle for us. We just got back to those basics in the second half – finishing on defence with a box-out, just the dirty stuff that no one is going to read about in the newspaper but is so vital. At the end of the day, it’s our first win at provincials, and that’s something we’ve never done before. An ugly win, but we move on. We’ll laugh about it, and we’ll get ready for the next game. And the good news is, we didn’t show (quarter-final opponent) Credo anything!” Devon Hofsink paced the Royals with 21. Ben Molitwenik added 13, along with 13 boards, Braden McAmmond 10, Teagan Sayar 8, Tanner Witt 5, Ryan Ponipal 2 and Liam Remple 2, while Nicholas Purvis, Bryce Blattler, Luke Gingras and Vincent Fan were scoreless. The Royals hit 26-79 (.329) from the floor, 2-16 (.125) from the arc and 7-21 from the line, while garnering 49 boards, including 28 on the offensive glass, 16 fouls, 3 assists, 21 turnovers, 2 blocks and 12 steals. Tyson Seward paced the Trail Blazers with 15. Matthew Morris added 12, Alex Bloedern 10, Nathan Faganello 7, Bradyn Libbus 2 and Corben Tonsi 2, while Calvin Vanderkooi, Aaron Vanderpol, Thomas Robinson, Joey Rocha, Silas Wilson, William Wyse and Stefan Lindkvist were scoreless. The Trail Blazers (coached by James Sijpheer and Breanne Quist, manager Cayle Dillon) hit 19-61 (.311) from the floor, 4-26 (.154) from the arc and 6-16 (.375) from the line, while garnering 31 boards, including 9 on the offensive glass, 21 fouls, 24 turnovers, 2 blocks and 10 steals. …………………………………………………… The 2nd-seeded Kelowna Christian Knights torched the 15th-seeded Gold River Cougars 100-28 after leading 24-6, 48-13 and 71-21 at the quarters. Jake Sabbagh paced the Knights with 14. Aidan Borne added 13, Parker Fleming 11, Parker Martens 11, Nate Wiebe 9, Josh Flood 9, Indy Hallett 8, Payton Koop 7, Connor Haasdyk 7, Colin Christophe 6, Parker Kent 4 and Max Becker 1, while Drew Williams was scoreless. The Knights hit 40-87 (.460) from the floor, 16-39 (.410) from the arc and 4-12 from the line, while garnering 41 boards, including 14 on the offensive glass, 7 fouls, 6 assists, 15 turnovers, 2 blocks and 18 steals. Tyler Gedlaman and Dayton Jack each scored 9 to pace the Cougars. David Terpocki added 4, Blair Jack 4 and Jared Gjesdal 2, while Taras John, Connor Creelman, Caleb Johnson, Ben Larre, Warren McLean, Logan Wilson and Tyrell Murphy were scoreless. The Cougars (coached by Stephen Larre, assisted by Garret Peters, manager Ellena Gjesdal) hit 12-57 (.211) from the floor, 1-14 (.071) from the arc and 3-8 (.375) from the line, while garnering 27 boards, including 7 on the offensive glass, 2 fouls, 1 assists, 29 turnovers, 1 block and 9 steals. …………………………………………………… The 7th-seeded Prince George Cedars Christian Eagles dumped the 10th-seeded Pemberton Red Devils 62-44 after leading 17-14, 34-23 and 48-38 at the quarters. Joel Nelson led the Eagles with 13. Evan Staves added 12, Mitch Crosina 11, Ben Wolitski 10, Lucas Crosina 7, Cole Willman 4, Karl Kibonge 3 and Max Whitehouse 2, while Isaac Lee, Tony Kibonge, Dany Tekeng and Daniel Iyaoromi were scoreless. Quinn Sam-Finlay paced the Red Devils with 14. Kota Fukuda added 8, Shikari King 7, Travis Beattie 6, Isiah Morin 4, Sean Turrin 3 and John Hubler 2, while Isaac Tetreault, Adam Boys, Quinn Phare, Tanner Brandt, Julian Birkhoelzer and Ernie Ronayne were scoreless. The Red Devils hit 18-62 (.290) from the floor, 5-17 (.294) from the arc and 3-13 (.231) from the line, while garnering 34 boards, including 9 on the offensive glass, 17 fouls, 1 assist, 25 turnovers and 6 steals. The Red Devils (coached by Jason McClean and Vincent Selina, assistants Keaton Gibson and Jesse Miller, managers Garth Phare and Val Phare) also included Lucas Cruz and Justis Menzel. …………………………………………………… The 3rd-seeded Chilliwack Highroad Academy Knights whipped the 14th-seeded McBride Mustangs 88-55 after leading 30-9, 58-21 and 73-39 at the quarters. “The first half especially, we came up with intensity. Even though we went up early, they maintained their focus, which is what I asked them to do,” Knights coach Steve Basaraba told Varsity Letters. Aidan Morris paced the Knights with 30. Elijah Grimard added 14, along with 11 boards, Samuel Pichura 13, Dawson Hartskamp 11, Easton Abel 8, Nathan Um 4, Francky Priebe 4 and Mike Luteyn 4, while Jasper Tong, Joshua Kerdachi, Josiah Gamlak and Ryan Hamilton-Clark were scoreless. The Knights hit 38-87 (.437) from the floor, 4-29 (.138) from the arc and 8-12 from the line, while garnering 44 boards, including 19 on the offensive glass, 15 fouls, 14 turnovers, 2 blocks and 18 steals. Shaemen Pauls paced the Mustangs with 16. Tavish Swets added 13, Noah Keim 9, Ezra Keim 5, Clay Cardinal 5, Jediah Rich 4 and Ethan Quam 3, while Levi Littlechild, Tyler Nieme and Seth Hulka were scoreless. The Mustangs (coached by Stan Keim, assisted by Jody Keim) hit 21-68 (.309) from the floor, 6-28 (.214) from the arc and 7-14 from the line, while garnering 36 boards, including 13 on the offensive glass, 9 fouls, 26 turnovers, 3 blocks and 4 steals. …………………………………………………… The top-seeded Victoria Glenlyon-Norfolk Gryphons clubbed the 16th-seeded Fernie Falcons 89-68. The Falcons led 24-21 after one quarter and 45-38 at the half. The Gryphons led 64-56 after three quarters. “They are not a number 16 seed,” Gryphons coach Harvey Thorau told Varsity Letters. Thorau said he told his troops at the half to just “stay the course. We had all kinds of layups that didn’t go, we had close-in shots that were ringing off the iron, and it was just play our game and it will take care of itself. … Sometimes coaches get drowned out by the sound of our own voice. I think that the second half came from within them.” Fernie assistant Ian Johnson said the Gryphons simply wore down the Falcons. “They run, they are a fast team and we just got a bit tired.” Chris Graham paced the Gryphons with 39, along with 12 boards. Noah Fekete added 15, Ethan Stanger 12, Josh Bowder 8, Kevin Dang 7, Thomas Healey 4, Sam Zhao 2 and Alec Boegman 2, while Alex Wells, Ian Prescott, Jacob Startek and Thomas Startek were scoreless. The Gryphons hit 37-95 (.389) from the floor, 2-12 (.167) from the arc and 13-15 (.867) from the line, while garnering 52 boards, including 19 on the offensive glass, 11 fouls, 1 assist, 18 turnovers, 2 blocks and 15 steals. Liam McLean paced the Falcons with 20. Nesta Malcolm added 19, Jake Lampman 11, Ryley Levesque 9, Oscar Grijalva 4, Simon Bloemink 3 and Nick Salanski 2, while Diego Grijalva, Tyler Dvorak, Connor Will and Jesse Starr were scoreless. The Falcons (coached by A.J. Kennedy, assisted by Ian Johnson) hit 27-83 (.325) from the floor, 9-38 (.237) from the arc and 5-10 from the line, while garnering 35 boards, including 15 on the offensive glass, 12 fouls, 3 assists, 19 turnovers, 5 blocks and 11 steals.
In the quarterfinals, the top-seeded Victoria Glenlyon-Norfolk Gryphons defeated the 8th-seeded Vancouver King David Lions 80-72 after leading 45-41 at the half. The Gryphons prevailed despite severe foul trouble as Chris Graham took command. “I’ve already told his mom, he is not going to graduate this year, I have already changed his PR card,” Gryphons coach Harvey Thorau quipped to Varsity Letters. “He is one of our three key leaders and we predicate our play on having at least two bigs in there … “We were worried about the mental and physical let down and there was, but the guys pulled through. It’s not the first time we have had to play with fouls, but it is a testament to the guys on the floor. They are battle-tested. … “Those kids played their hearts out. It was tough-nosed. It was gritty. They executed their game plan and had us running in circles at times it seemed.” Chris Graham led the Gryphons with 36. Noah Fekete added 14, along with 11 boards, Ethan Stanger 11, Josh Bowder 6, Kevin Dang 4, Ian Prescott 3, Thomas Healey 2, Alec Boegman 2 and Jacob Startek 2, while Alex Wells, Sam Zhao and Thomas Startek were scoreless. The Gryphons hit 30-70 (.429) from the floor, 1-10 from the arc and 19-30 (.633) from the line, while garnering 37 boards, including 11 on the offensive glass, 28 fouls, 6 assists, 18 turnovers, 1 block and 2 steals. Oliver Munt paced the Lions with 26, along with 16 boards. Saul Khalifa added 16, along with 18 boards, Yuval Jacob 8, Benjamin Kraft 8, Joey Altow 5, Roi Jakelowitz 5 and Zevi Kline 4, while Noah McNamara, Aviv David, Izack Kastiel, Avichai Mattuck, Israel Freeman, Netanel Orzech, Sagiv Fadida and Nathan Guez were scoreless. The Lions (coached by David Amram, assisted by Matt Dichter) hit 28-85 (.329) from the floor, 1-17 (.059) from the line and 15-32 (.469) from the arc, while garnering 49 boards, including 24 on the offensive glass, 24 fouls, 7 assists, 22 turnovers and 3 steals.
The 4th-seeded Langley Credo Christian Kodiaks crushed the 5th-seeded Vernon Christian Royals 78-58. The Royals led 21-10, 38-33 and 52-42 at the quarters. Anthony Vanderstoep had been shooting 0-11 from the arc late in the third quarter. But he hit four treys in the final frame to help the Kodiaks rally from a 55-47 deficit in the fourth quarter. “I actually thought we were done for,” Vanderstoep told Varsity Letters. His final trey capped a 27-6 run. “It just feels good (when you get hot),” said Vanderstoep. “Your team is down and it’s like win or go home, so making those shots feels good.” Kodiaks coach Justin Vanderploeg said “they’re way bigger than us, so the game plan was push the ball, full-court press the whole game long. We knew that could get us (in trouble) at the beginning of the game because with a lot of energy, teams can break a press. But we stuck with the game plan, knew we could get back in it. And when Anthony hit a few threes that certainly helped. He’s a shooter, so I always tell him a shooter’s going to shoot if he’s open. I mean, I wish I could game plan for him to hit four threes in a row. I’m pretty happy he did it.” Stephan Klein paced the Kodiaks with 22. Anthony Vanderstoep added 21, Will Dykstra 16, along with 11 boards, Eliah Faragalla 9, Gavin Grim 6, Levi Vanderburgt 3 and Eric Sikma 1, while Sam Leyenhorst, Caleb Bos, Sam Tiggelaar, Jordan Krabbendam, Luke Leyenhorst and Ryan Hoogstra were scoreless. The Kodiaks hit 24-81 (.296) from the floor, 5-24 (.208) from the arc and 25-40 (.625) from the line, while garnering 37 boards, including 13 on the offensive glass, 20 fouls, 5 assists, 8 turnovers, 1 block and 15 steals. Devon Hofsink paced the Royals with 23, along with 13 boards. Tanner Witt added 13, Nicholas Purvis 9, Liam Remple 4, Bryce Blattler 3, Teagan Sayar 3, Ben Molitwenik 2, along with 11 boards, and Braeden McAmmond 1, while Luke Gingras, Ryan Ponipal and Vincent Fan were scoreless. The Royals hit 21-65 (.323) from the floor, 3-11 (.273) from the arc and 13-23 (.565) from the line, while garnering 41 boards, including 12 on the offensive glass, 28 fouls, 7 assists, 3 blocks and 4 steals. The Royals (coached by Robere Gingras, assisted by Ryan Molitwenik) also included Brad Cramer.
The 3rd-seeded Chilliwack Highroad Academy Knights defeated the 6th-seeded Keremeos Similkameen Sparks 70-62 after leading 23-11, 41-25 and 49-48 at the quarters. “We’re pretty excited to be back (in provincials for the first time in 10 years),” Knights coach Steve Basaraba told Varsity Letters. “We came out really strong . . . but this team (Similkameen) has scored all year long, so we knew they were going to come back. We just stayed the course and I tried to keep my guys calm, tried to to keep the composed. It’s an exciting win for us. We held a team that normally scores 100 points to 60. You do that, good things happen. This is a young squad, but they are composed. I appreciate that about them.” Aidan Morris paced the Knights with 20. Easton Abel added 15, Dawson Hartskamp 14, along with 10 boards, Mike Luteyn 8, Elijah Grimard 6, Samuel Pichura 5 and Nathan Um 2, while Jasper Tong, Francky Priebe, Joshua Kerdachi, Josiah Gamiak and Ryan Hamilton-Clark were scoreless. The Knights hit 26-84 (.310) from the floor, 7-24 (.292) from the arc and 11-20 (.550) from the line, while garnering 39 boards, including 17 on the offensive glass, 16 fouls, 10 assists, 21 turnovers, 2 blocks and 18 steals. Corbin Marsden paced the Sparks with 26, along with 17 boards. Tyson Douanpangya added 18, Jughrag Boparai 15, Pavi Kahlon 2 and Armaan Dhaliwal 1, while Jaxson Hibbs, Quinn Carignan, Yan Peron, Harjaap Bengag, Jacob Hibbs, Zack Riegling, Bobby Squakin and Dustin Frostad were scoreless. The Sparks hit 23-67 (.343) from the floor, 5-28 (.179) from the arc and 11-17 (.647) from the line, while garnering 40 boards, including 12 on the offensive glass, 17 fouls, 13 assists, 26 turnovers, 2 blocks and 14 steals. The Sparks (coached by Billy Potash, assistants Sukhraj Bengag and Peter Ruocco, manager Brandie Zebroff) also included Carter Thompson.
In the last quarterfinal, the 2nd-seeded Kelowna Christian Knights pounded the 7th-seeded Prince George Cedars Christian Eagles 79-41 after leading 7-6, 32-22 and 58-32 at the quarters. Colin Christophe paced the Knights with 17. Parker Martens added 13, Jake Sabbagh 8, Josh Flood 8, Connor Haasdyk 8, Indy Hallett 8, Parker Fleming 7, Max Becker 4, Aidan Borne 3 and Parker Kent 3, while Nate Wiebe, Drew Williams and Payton Koop were scoreless. The Knights hit 29-88 (.330) from the floor, 6-19 (.316) from the arc and 15-26 (.577) from the arc, while garnering 59 boards, including 29 on the offensive glass, 17 fouls, 10 assists, 15 turnovers, 4 blocks and 11 steals. Evan Staves paced the Eagles with 14. Tony Kibonge added 7, Ben Wolitski 6, Joel Nelson 6, Lucas Crosina 4, Karl Kibonge 2 and Cole Willmann 2, while Isaac Lee, Mitch Crosina, Dany Tekeng, Max Whitehouse and Daniel Iyaoromi were scoreless. The Eagles hit 12-69 (.174) from the floor, 6-29 (.207) from the arc and 11-18 (.611) from the line, while garnering 31 boards, including 12 on the offensive glass, 19 fouls, 7 assists, 18 turnovers, 5 blocks and 10 steals. The Eagles (coached by Jeff Ludditt and Frank Crosina) also included Craig Hein.
In the semis, the 4th-seeded Langley Credo Christian Kodiaks stunned the top-seeded Victoria Glenlyon-Norfolk Gryphons 97-88 in double overtime. The Gryphons led 20-17 after one quarter. The score was knotted at 33 at the half. The Gryphons led 51-47 after three quarters. The score was knotted at 71 after regulation and at 84 after the first overtime. The Kodiaks trailed by 9 with 6 minutes to play but outscored the Gryphons 16-7 down the stretch to force overtime. They forced double overtime as Stephen Klein banked a trey off the glass with 12.9 seconds to play. The tide swung in Credo’s favour when Anthony Vanderstoep notched a four-point play (a trey and a free throw) to make it 88-83 with 2:28 to go and the Kodiaks iced it at the line. Kodiaks coach Justin Vanderstoep told Varsity Letters that “we are so deep so when fouls started happening, they were able to step up and fill roles. It didn’t come down the best players winning the game, it came down to who worked the hardest from the guys on the bench so that was a really proud moment as a coach.” Will Dykstra paced the Kodiaks with 27 on 9-22 from the floor, 3-5 from the arc, 6-8 from the line, 12 boards and 2 steals. Anthony Vanderstoep added 18 on 4-17 from the floor, 3-11 from the arc, 7-10 from the line, 3 boards and 4 assists. Eric Sikma notched 17 on 4-13 from the floor, 9-13 from the line, 9 boards, 2 assists and 3 steals. Stephan Klein added 16 on 3-14 from the floor, 2-8 from the arc, 8-11 from the line, 15 boards, 3 assists, 2 blocks and 3 steals. Eliah Faragalia scored 15 on 5-22 from the floor, 5-10 from the line, 3 boards and 5 steals. Gavin Grim added 2 on 1-4 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc and 2 boards. Caleb Bos scored 1 on 0-5 from the arc, 1-2 from the line and 3 boards. Ryan Hoogstra added 1 on 1-2 from the line and 2 boards, while Sam Leyenhorst, Sam Tiggelaar, Jordan Krabbendam, Luke Leyenhorst and Levi Vandeburgt were scoreless. The Kodiaks hit 26-97 (.268) from the floor, 8-30 (.267) from the arc and 37-58 (.638) from the line, while garnering 51 boards, including 17 on the offensive glass, 27 fouls, 10 assists, 21 turnovers, 3 blocks and 14 steals. Chris Graham paced the Gryphons with 39 on 15-38 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 9-11 from the line, 19 boards, 4 assists and 3 steals. Ethan Stanger added 26 on 9-24 from the floor, 4-12 from the arc, 4-6 from the line, 4 boards and 3 assists. Noah Fekete notched 13 on 4-23 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 5-13 from the line, 6 boards and 2 assists. Alec Boegman scored 4 on 2-3 from the floor, 0-2 from the line, 8 boards and 3 steals. Jacob Startek added 3 on 1-1 from the floor, 1-2 from the line and 5 boards. Alex Wells notched 2 on 0-2 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 2-5 from the line and 2 boards. Josh Bowder scored 1 on 0-8 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 1-2 from the line, 5 boards, 2 assists and 2 steals, while Thomas Healey, Ian Prescott, Kevin Dang, Sam Zhao and Thomas Startek were scoreless. Healey nabbed 9 boards, dished 3 assists and pilfered 3 balls. Dang nabbed 4 boards, Zhao 2 and Prescott 2. The Gryphons hit 31-107 (.290) from the floor, 4-21 (.190) from the arc and 22-41 (.537) from the line, while garnering 66 boards, including 25 on the offensive glass, 38 fouls, 15 assists, 24 turnovers, 1 block and 11 steals.
In the other semi, the 2nd-seeded Kelowna Christian Knights dispatched the 3rd-seeded Chilliwack Highroad Academy Knights 58-51. Kelowna Christian led 14-11 after one quarter and 28-24 at the half. Highroad led 42-39 after three quarters and 48-44 with three minutes to play but Indy Hallett hit a trio from beyond the arc and Kelowna Christian closed it out with a 14-3 run. “We could not buy a bucket from outside,” Kelowna Christian coach Daniel Benson told Varsity Letters. “I just told my boys, if you are open and it’s the end of the shot clock and you have a three, I don’t care if you have missed 10 in a row, keep taking it. … Indy hit them, that’s all that mattered. … Perseverance. They played hard despite not hitting shots and we got the ‘W’ despite lots of things not going as planned. And Highroad, those guys hustled like crazy and played so hard.” Jake Sabbagh paced Kelowna Christian with 18 on 8-13 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 2-2 from the line and 15 boards. Indy Hallett added 16 on 6-13 from the floor, 4-10 from the arc and 3 boards. Colin Christophe notched 10 on 3-18 from the floor, 1-11 from the arc, 3-4 from the line, 8 boards and 3 assists. Parker Fleming scored 5 on 2-9 from the floor, 1-1 from the line, 11 boards and 6 assists. Josh Flood added 3 on 1-4 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 6 boards and 4 assists. Connor Haasdyk scored 3 on 1-4 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 1-4 from the line and 5 boards. Parker Martens added 3 on 1-9 from the floor, 1-8 from the arc and 5 boards, while Nate Wiebe, Drew Williams, Payton Koop, Aidan Borne, Parker Kent and Max Becker were scoreless. Kent nabbed 2 boards. Kelowna Christian hit 22-71 (.310) from the floor, 7-33 (.212) from the arc and 7-11 (.636) from the line, while garnering 55 boards, including 23 on the offensive glass, 14 fouls, 14 assists, 15 turnovers, 5 blocks and 4 steals. Elijah Grimard paced Highroad with 16 on 5-15 from the floor, 2-5 from the arc, 4-8 from the line, 7 boards and 3 steals. Aidan Morris added 13 on 6-20 from the floor, 1-8 from the arc and 4 boards. Easton Abel notched 12 on 4-17 from the floor, 1-5 from the ar, 3-5 from the line, 7 boards, 2 assists and 2 steals. Samuel Pichura scored 5 on 2-7 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 0-2 from the line and 3 steals. Dawson Hartskamp added 3 on 1-4 from the floor, 1-2 from the line and 9 boards. Mike Luteyn scored 2 on 1-8 from the floor, 0-4 from the arc, 4 boards, 3 assists and 2 steals, while Nathan Um, Jasper Tong, Francky Priebe, Joshua Kerachi, Josiah Gamlak and Ryan Hamilton-Clark were scoreless. Priebe nabbed 2 boards. Highroad hit 19-73 (.260) from the floor, 5-24 (.208) from the arc and 8-19 (.421) from the line, while garnering 34 boards, including 12 on the offensive glass, 15 fouls, 5 assists, 10 turnovers, 2 blocks and 12 steals.
In the bronze medal match, the 3rd-seeded Chilliwack Highroad Academy Knights defeated the top-seeded Victoria Glenlyon-Norfolk Gryphons 74-69. The score was knotted at 17 after one quarter. The Knights led 41-31 at the half and 63-51 after three quarters. Elijah Grimard paced the Knights with 27 on 10-25 from the floor, 4-11 from the arc, 3-6 from the line, 9 boards and 4 steals. Aidan Morris added 19 on 7-26 from the floor, 4-14 from the arc, 1-3 from the line, 3 boards, 8 assists and 2 steals. Mike Luteyn notched 10 on 4-12 from the floor, 2-7 from the arc, 5 boards and 5 steals. Easton Abel scored 5 on 3-12 from the floor, 1-7 from the arc, 7 boards, 5 assists and 4 steals. Samuel Pichura added 5 on 1-3 from the floor, 3-4 from the line, 2 boards and 2 steals. Dawson Hartskamp scored 4 on 1-10 from the floor, 2-8 from the line and 10 boards. Nathan Um added 2 on 1-2 from the floor, while Jasper Tong, Franky Priebe Joshua Kerdachi, Josiah Gamlak and Ryan Hamilton-Clark were scoreless. Priebe nabbed 4 boards. The Knights hit 27-92 (.293) from the floor, 11-39 (.282) from the arc and 9-21 (.429) from the line, while garnering 41 boards, including 20 on the offensive glass, 13 fouls, 15 assists, 14 turnovers and 19 steals. Defensive player of the tournament Chris Graham paced the Gryphons with 35 on 15-23 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 4-7 from the line, 11 boards and 2 assists. Noah Fekete added 12 on 6-13 from the floor, 0-4 from the line and 17 boards. Ethan Stanger notched 11 on 4-16 from the floor, 2-7 from the arc, 1-2 from the line, 2 boards, 2 assists and 2 steals. Kevin Dang scored 6 on 2-2 from the floor, 1-1 from the arc, 1-2 from the line and 3 assists. Jodh Bowder added 4 on 2-8 from the floor, 0-3 from the arc and 3 boards. Alec Boegman scored 1 on 1-2 from the line, while Alex Wells, Ian Prescott, Sam Zhao, Jack Brunkan, Thomas Healey, Jacob Startek and Thomas Startek were scoreless. Healey nabbed 9 boards and dished 2 assists. The Gryphons hit 29-64 (.453) from the floor, 4-13 (.308) from the arc and 7-17 (.412) from the line, while garnering 46 boards, including 8 on the offensive glass, 18 fouls, 10 assists, 2 blocks and 5 steals. The Gryphons (coached by Harvey Thorau and Steve King, manager Curtis Chan) also included Chris Graham.
In the final, the 2nd-seeded Kelowna Christian Knights whipped the 4th-seeded Langley Credo Christian Kodiaks 81-45 after leading 25-10, 51-24 and 71-37 at the quarters. The Knights defensive pressure and depth overwhelmed the Kodiaks as they built a 31-point lead in the first half. “Yesterday we struggled shooting the ball,” Knights coach Dan Benson told Varsity Letters. “Today, it was all business. We knew what we were capable of doing and we just went out and executed.” Defensive player of the tournament Indy Hallett said “we really focused on defence, and (Anthony Vanderstoep), he deserved the Best Defender (award). That was our focus: to not let (Dykstra) score. They have some very good shooters and we had to make sure we always had a hand up.” Kodiaks coach Justin Vanderploeg said playing a double-overtime semi made no difference in the outcome. “You’ve got to be excited about playing in a finals. You could have one hour of sleep and you should come out good in the finals. So no factor there. … They hit a lot of shots, and we didn’t answer back. We were too worried about what they were hitting than what we were supposed to be doing. We’ll learn from that.” Benson told Global News that the Knights were determine to better a quarterfinal loss the previous campaign. “This year, we had a mission to not let that happen again. We fought all year to get here and everyone (coaches, players, teachers, volunteers) put in extra hours.” The message heading in was to ignore a poor shooting performance in the semis. “Shrug it off, that night’s behind us, just come out and play ball.” Assistant Tim Martens told Kelowna Now that “this team really thrives on character and we believe it made a huge difference. Once a week for the past nine weeks the team would eat together, have character talks and watch film together. What a difference that made at Provincials. Our chemistry and unselfish play separated us from the other teams quickly.” Tournament MVP Colin Christophe paced the Knights with 23 on 9-19 from the floor, 3-9 from the arc, 2-3 from the line, 3 boards and 4 assists. Player of the game Indy Hallett added 17 on 6-13 from the floor, 4-9 from the arc, 1-2 from the line, 2 boards and 2 steals. Josh Flood notched 10 on 4-11 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 7 boards and 2 assists. Parker Martens scored 10 on 4-8 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc, 1-1 from the line, 6 boards and 2 assists. Parker Fleming added 6 on 3-6 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc and 4 boards. Jake Sabbagh notched 5 on 2-6 from the floor, 1-3 from the line, 6 boards and 2 blocks. Parker Kent scored 4 on 2-2 from the floor, 7 boards and 2 blocks. Payton Koop added 2 on 1-3 from the floor and 0-2 from the arc. Connor Haasdyk notched 2 on 0-5 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 2-2 from the line and 10 boards. Max Becker scored 2 on 1-1 from the floor, while Nate Wiebe, Drew Williams and Aidan Borne were scoreless. The Knights hit 32-75 (.427) from the floor, 8-28 (.286) from the arc and 9-14 (.643) from the line, while garnering 47 boards, including 16 on the offensive glass, 18 fouls, 12 assists, 10 turnovers, 5 blocks and 4 steals. Will Dykstra paced the Kodiaks with 13 on 6-22 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 1-3 from the line, 6 boards, 3 assists and 2 steals. Gavin Grim added 12 on 4-12 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc, 3-4 from the line and 4 boards. Elia Faragalla notched 7 on 1-13 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 5-10 from the line and 3 boards. Anthony Vanderstoep scored 6 on 2-11 from the floor, 2-9 from the arc and 4 boards. Stephan Klein added 4 on 1-4 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 2-2 from the line and 3 boards. Eric Sikma notched 3 on 1-5 from the floor, 1-2 from the line and 10 boards, while Sam Leyenhorst, Caleb Bos, Sam Tiggelaar, Jordan Krabbendam, Luke Leyenhorst, Ryan Hoogstra and Levi Vandeburgt were scoreless. The Kodiaks hit 15-67 (.224) from the floor, 3-18 (.167) from the arc and 12-21 (.571) from the line, while garnering 30 boards, including 9 on the offensive glass, 14 fouls, 4 assists, 13 turnovers and 6 steals.
The all-tournament 1st team featured MVP Colin Christophe (Kelowna Christian); Chris Graham (Glenlyon-Norfolk); Aidan Morris (Highroad Academy); Will Dykstra (Credo Christian); Anthony Vanderstoep (Credo Christian); and Indy Hallett (Kelowna Christian).
The 2nd-team featured Saul Kahlifa (King David); Elijah Grimard (Highroad Academy); Corbin Marsden (Similkameen); Stephan Klein (Credo Christian); and Josh Flood (Kelowna Christian).
The bronze medalist Chilliwack Highroad Academy Knights: Samuel Pichura; Nathan Um; Easton Abel; Jasper Tong; Francky Priebe; Mike Luteyn; Elijah Grimard; Joshua Kerdachi; Dawson Hartskamp; Josiah Gamlak; Aidan Morris; Ryan Hamilton-Clark; coach Steve Basaraba; assistant Daniel Burge; assistant Brian Pichura; assistant Shawn Krahn; assistant Stuart Morris; manager Micah Pichura
The silver medalist Langley Credo Christian Kodiaks: Will Dykstra; Eric Sikma; Sam Leyenhorst; Gavin Grim; Anthony Vanderstoep; Elia Faragalla; Caleb Bos; Sam Tiggelaar; Jordan Krabbendam; Stephan Klein; Luke Leyenhorst; Ryan Hoogstra; Levi Vandeburgt; coach Justin Vanderploeg; assistant Josh Allison; manager Jackie Vanderploeg; manager Peter Ni
The gold medalist Kelowna Christian Knights: Nate Wiebe; Jake Sabbagh; Colin Christophe; Josh Flood; Drew Williams; Payton Koop; Connor Haasdyk; Aidan Borne; Parker Kent; Indy Hallett; Parker Martens; Parker Fleming; Max Becker; coach Dan Benson; assistant Sol Benson; assistant Tim Martens