In the opening round: …………………………………………………… The top-seeded Chilliwack Highroad Academy Knights torched the 16th-seeded Ahousaht Maaqtsusiis Ahousaht 111-57 after leading 27-7, 55-25 and 92-39 at the quarters. Elijah Gimard paced the Knights with 24. Aidan Morris added 19, Ryan Hamilton-Clark 14, Frankcy Priebe 12, Dawson Hartskamp 12, along with 12 boards, Nico Kattenberg 12, Easton Abel 7, Nathan Um 5, Quinn Goosen 3, Kai Liao 3 and Josh Kerdachi 1, while Josiah Gamiak was scoreless. The Knights hit 47-87 (.533) from the floor, 4-17 (.278) from the arc and 13-19 (.619) from the line, while garnering 36 boards, including 13 on the offensive glass, 10 fouls, 7 assists, 10 turnovers and 9 steals. Keith Williams notched 8 for the Ahousaht (coach John Frank, assistants Floyd Campbell and Rick Lindholm). Jax Frank added 7, Maikeli Kaloucokavale 5, Chris Williams 2 and Ivander Charlie 1, while Norman Campbell, Kenyon Sam, Keenan Williams, Arnold Thomas and Moses Charlie were ostensibly scoreless although 34 points were unallocated. Team statistics presented on the final scoresheet are thus essentially meaningless. …………………………………………………… The 9th-seeded Prince George Cedars Christian Eagles pounded the 8th-seeded Masset Gudangaay Tlaats’ Gaa Naay Thunder 81-60 after leading 18-15, 38-31 and 72-49 at the quarters. The Thunder had led by nine early but the Eagles soon took command and romped. Mitchell Crosina paced the Eagles with 23, while nabbing 14 boards. Evan Staves added 15, Karl Kibonge 12, Ben Wolitski, Lucas Crosina 10, Tony Kibonge 6, Dany Tekeng 2 and Issac lee 2, while Mitchell Nikkkel, Daniel Lyorami, Cole Willmann and Max Whitehouse were scoreless. The Eagles hit 35-70 from the floor, 7-24 (.292) from the arc and 4-7 (.571) from the line, while garnering 37 boards, including 7 on the offensive glass, 11 fouls, 11 assists, 9 turnovers, 1 block and 11 steals. Devan Boyko paced the Thunder with 28. Gavin Peerless added 9, Schon Sjolund 8, Desmond Setso 7, Adam Washington 4, Sheldon Smith 2 and Ben Simonsen 2, while Clayton Marks, Solas Reynolds, Stanley Swanson, Sam Whilhelm, Aiden Moraes and Steven Parnell were scoreless. The Thunder (coached by Calvin Westbrook, assisted by Kieran Wake) hit 23-67 (.343) from the floor, 5-25 from the arc and 9-11 (.818) from the line, while garnering 39 boards, including 12 on the offensive glass, 6 fouls, 11 assists, 22 turnovers, 1 block and 1 steal. …………………………………………………… The 4th-seeded Barriere Cougars torched the 13th-seeded Grand Forks Wolves 90-58 after leading 22-16, 46-22 and 68-35 at the quarters. “Our goal was to get here and make some noise,” rookie Cougars coach Travis Repka told Varsity Letters. “You want to win that first game, so it is a weight off your shoulders.” Repka said his troops were shaky in the first quarter. “We just told them to take a deep breath. You miss that first lay-up, it’s nerves. But after that, we got into our game and played Cougar basketball.” Tyson Schilling paced the Cougars with 26. Aaron VanSickle added 15, along with 12 boards, Tanner Schilling 15, Cameron Kerslake 12, Ty Hartman 9, Rowan Johnson 6, Thompson Mitchell 5 and Levi Kempter 2, while Spencer Schilling, Mackenzie Jackson, Kash Lumley and Kaden VanNeiuwkerk were scoreless. The Cougars hit 36-84 (.429) from the floor, 11-25 (.440) from the arc and 7-16 (.438) from the line, while garnering 42 boards, including 14 on the offensive glass, 17 fouls, 21 assists, 20 turnovers and 17 steals. Liam Frazer paced the Wolves with 24. Kitchener Leslie added 12, Kevin Wilsom 10, Mehki Dolan 6, along with 12 boards, Dolan Weltz 4 and Jacob Brewer 2, while Issac Weltz, Eire O’Donnell, Jake McArthur, Jack Sawyer and Jake Webster were scoreless. The Wolves (coach Brandon Friesen, manager Riley Friesen) hit 19-70 (.271) from the floor, 6-23 (.261) from the arc and 14-23 (.609) from the line, while garnering 35 boards, including 13 on the offensive glass, 12 fouls, 12 assists, 24 turnovers, 2 blocks and 12 steals. …………………………………………………… The 5th-seeded Fernie Falcons clipped the 12th-seeded Surrey Ecole Gabrielle-Roy Phenix 86-74 after leading 27-15, 51-30 and 69-48 at the quarters. Falcons coach A.J. Kennedy told Varsity Letters that guard Asher Hannemann is “our engine. He drives our team. He goes, we go. He just goes about his game and gets basket after basket. You don’t even realize he gets that many points.” Asher Hannermann paced the Falcons with 32, while nabbing 12 boards. Nesta Malcolm added 28, Jake Lampman 13, Connor Will 5, Simon Bloemink 4, Dawn Dimiyacvav 2 and Diego Grijalva 2, while Julien Stewart, Cam Wall, Ryley Leveque and Anton Loewen were scoreless. The Falcons hit 35-85 (.412) from the floor, 2-18 (.111) from the arc and 14-25 (.560) from the lie, while garnering 45 boards, including 17 on the offensive glass, 13 fouls, 15 assists, 24 turnovers, 1 block and 14 steals. Cyrian Labert paced the Phenix with 16. Dan Mutunga added 13, Joel Bukiro 12, Kyran Tivers 10, Elias Ardanaz 9, Conrad Squarek 8, Leandro Madore-Sobarzo 3 and Kevin Loro 3, while Zachary Martin, Lucas Klopfstein and Luis Sanchez were scoreless. The Phenix (coach Darren Manweiler, assistant Darren Manweiler (Jr?), assistant Grant Harrison) hit 30-68 (.441) from the floor, 7-23 (.304) from the arc and 7-12 (.583) from the line, while garnering 32 boards, including 8 on the offensive glass, 20 fouls, 16 assists, 23 turnovers and 14 steals. …………………………………………………… The 2nd-seeded Kelowna Christian Knights clubbed the 15th-seeded Burnaby Deer Lake Falcons 92-72. The Knights depth and balance proved problematic for the Falcons. Indy Hallet paced the Knights with 28. Jake Sabbagh added 21, Josh Flood 16, Max Becker 10, Nate Wiebe 9, R.J. Stone 4, Ethan Gray 2 and Aiden Borne 2, while Owen Christophe, Sam Calderwood and Jaxson Giles were scoreless. Michael Mvundura scored 18 to pace the Falcons. Marcus Tsang added 15, Joel Bernard 12, Renz Tingson 9, Diamond Devil 7, Sam Brewster 6, Ethan Yu 3 and Danny Du 2, while Tino Jura, Luca DiTomaso, Kohner Walkus, Saihil Asere, Justin Adams, Jay Novelas and Moises Macadangdang were scoreless. The Falcons (coached by Steven Ferrufino, assistant Brittany Dobbin, managers Molly Ruden, Esmon Emmons and Arthur Barrett) also include Luigi Tingson. …………………………………………………… The 7th-seeded Victoria Glenlyon-Norfolk Gryphons dispatched the 10th-seeded Keremeos Similkameen Sparks 73-57 after leading 24-21, 40-29 and 59-36 at the quarters. Connor Elliott paced the Gryphons with 25. Sam Zhao added 19, along with 11 boards, Alec Boegman 12, Leo Huang 8, Daimeohn Chapman 5, Finnbar Sweeney 2 and Diego Morganstern 2, while Corin Wallace, Ian Ferguson, Parker Dix and Dylan Hemphill were scoreless. The Gryphons hit 31-61 (.508) from the floor, 4-12 from the arc and 7-13 (.538) from the line, while garnering 40 boards, including 7 on the offensive glass, 11 fouls, 10 assists, 24 turnovers and 10 steals. Quinn Carignan paced the Sparks with 20. Tyson Douanpangya added 11, Armaan Dhaliwal 10, Levi Carter 7, Carter Thompson 5, Brody Yamamoto 2 and Kaleb Montgomery-Reid 2, while Jaxson Hibbs, Zack Reigling, Derek Brunton, Zack Reigling, Jacob Hibbs and Clinton Mardsen were scoreless. The Sparks (coached Billy Potash, manager Nobal Bhathal) hit 22-74 (.297) from the floor, 8-40 (.200) from the arc and 5-11 (.455) from the line, while garnering 26 boards, including 9 on the offensive glass, 17 fouls, 10 assists, 14 turnovers and 16 steals. …………………………………………………… The 3rd-seeded Chilliwack Unity Christian Flames dusted the 14th-seeded Vanderhoof Northside Christian Northstars 93-50 after leading 32-10, 54-21 and 75-34 at the quarters. Colby Vanderkooi paced the Flames with 16, while nabbing 13 boards. Wilton Haan added 15, Keegan Schuurman 15, Caleb Graham 12, Colton Vanderkooi 9, Wilclair Neufeld 7, Wiltosso Neufeld 7, Andrew Visser 5, Brendan Van Veen 3, Noah Klassen 2 and Matthew Morisson 2, while Greg DeRaadt was scoreless. The Flames hit 39-84 (.464) from the floor, 6-25 (.240) from the arc and 9-18 from the line, while garnering 43 boards, including 19 on the offensive glass, 7 fouls, 18 assists, 15 turnovers, 1 block and 16 steals. Regan Unger paced the Northstars with 11. Ryan Bulitz added 11, Brendon Austin 8, Landon Wale 8, Luk Fehr 8, Nolan Neudorf 2 and Bryce Giesbrecht 2, while Gavin Kochanek was scoreless. The Northstars (coach Ian Macleod, assistant Mark Unger, manager Doris Durupt) hit 20-58 (.345) from the floor, 8-24 from the arc and 2-7 (.286) from the line, while garnering 30 boards, including 8 on the offensive glass, 11 fouls, 5 assists, 24 turnovers, 1 block and 8 steals. …………………………………………………… The 6th-seed Vancouver St. John’s Eagles clipped the 11th-seeded McBride Mustangs 71-64 after leading 18-17, 38-31 and 52-44 at the quarters. Steven Lin paced the Eagles with 21, while nabbing 12 boards. Pan Allan notched 14, Eason Tan 13, Armaan Sandhu 5, Martin Chen 5, Satyam Goyal 5, Alex Smith 3, Tim Chen 2, Navi Khakh 2 and Owen Marburg 1, while Oliver Tsai, Allam Sandhu, Wesley Lau and Aneil Chauhan were scoreless. The Eagles hit 27-83 (.325) from the floor, 7-38 (.184) from the arc and 10-12 (.833) from the line, while garnering 35 boards, including 18 on the offensive glass, 13 fouls, 12 assists, 8 turnovers and 11 steals. Clay Cardinal paced the Mustangs with 27, while nabbing 11 boards. Seth Hulka notched 17, along with 10 boards, Ezra Keim 7, Jed Rich 5, Levi Littlechild 4 and Tyler Niemi 4, while Tylan Hagen and Daniel Lin were scoreless. The Mustangs (coach Peter Hulka, assistant Lisa Hulka, managers Stan Keim, manager Jody Keim) hit 28-63 (.444) from the floor, 6-19 (.316) from the arc and 2-5 from the line, while garnering 47 boards, including 13 on the offensive glass, 10 fouls, 11 assists, 18 turnovers and 3 steals.
In the quarterfinals, the top-seeded Chilliwack Highroad Academy Knights dumped the 9th-seeded Prince George Cedars Christian Eagles 79-66 after leading 21-20, 42-35 and 59-47 at the quarters. Knights coach Mike Shannon told Varsity Letters that difference was a shift to 2-3 zona with a half-court trap. Aidan Morris paced the Knights with 31. Dawson Hartskamp added 15, Nico Kattenberg 13, Elijah Gimard 12 and Easton Abel 8, while Quinn Goosen, Kai Liao, Francky Priebe, Nathan Um, Josh Kerdachi, Ryan Hamilton-Clark and Josiah Gamiak were scoreless. The Knights hit 32-83 (.386) from the floor, 2-14 (.143) from the arc and 13-25 (.520) from the line, while garnering 43 boards, including 14 on the offensive glass, 10 fouls, 6 assists, 10 turnovers, 2 blocks and 11 steals. Evan Staves paced the Ealges with 26. Ben Wolitski added 24, Mitchell Crosina 5, Tony Kibonge 5, Lucas Crosina 4 and Karl Kibonge 2, along with 10 boards, while Dany Tekeng, Issac Lee, Mitchell Nikkel, Daniel Iyorami, Cole Willmann and Max Whitehouse were scoreless. The Eagles (coach Jeff Ludditt, assistant Frank Crosina) hit 25-78 (.321) from the floor, 9-33 (.273) from the arc and 7-7 from the line, while garnering 38 boards, including 13 on the offensive glass, 19 fouls, 8 assists, 15 turnovers, 3 blocks and 7 steals.
The 5th-seeded Fernie Falcons defeated the 4th-seeded Barriere Cougars 84-71 after leading 25-18, 45-38 and 63-52 at the quarters. “They are a good team. I was a bit nervous before this game. I am usually not too nervous but that Barriere team put a little nerve in me. Luckily, we were able to pull it out,” Falcons coach AJ Kennedy told Varsity Letters. Asher Hannemann and Nesta Malcolm dominated the floor as the Falcons took an early lead and maintained a comfortable margin to the final buzzer. Asher Hannemann paced the Falcons with 29, while nabbing 12 boards. Nesta Malcolm added 26, Jake Lampman 16, Simon Bloemink 7, along with 15 boards, and Connor Will 6, while Dawn Dimiyacyav, Julien Stewart, Cam Wall, Ryley Leveque, Anton Loewen and Diego Grijalva were scoreless. The Falcons hit 30-94 (.319) from the floor, 5-28 (.179) from the arc and 19-29 (.655) from the line, while garnering 48 boards, including 19 on the offensive glass, 14 fouls, 11 assists, 17 turnovers, 2 blocks and 11 steals. Tyson Schilling paced the Cougars with 27. Cameron Kerslake added 22, along with 10 boards, Aaron VanSickle 12, along with 11 boards, Thompson Mitchell 5, Tanner Schilling 3 and Levin Kempter 2, while Ty Hartman, Spencer Schilling, Rowan Johnson, Mackenzie Jackson, Kash Lumley and Kaden Vannieuwkerk were scoreless. The Cougars (coach Travis Repka, assistants Ian Mitchell, Tyler Schilling and Casey Brouwer) hit 28-69 (.406) from the floor, 3-15 (.200) from the arc and 12-15 (.800) from the line, while garnering 38 boards, including 4 on the offensive glass, 23 fouls, 6 assists, 23 turnovers and 8 steals.
The 2nd-seeded Kelowna Chrstian Knights torched the 6th-seeded Victoria Glenlyon-Norfolk Gryphons 88-54 after leading 31-12, 52-21 and 60-32 at the quarters. “I like how they locked in on the defensive end in the first half, holding those guys to 21 points,” Knights coach Daven Benson told Varsity Letters. “(Glenlyon Norfolk) is a good team and they have some good players there and we had to focus in hard on those guys. … We know what our expectations are and what we can do. We never want to fall below those expectations.” The Knights dominated from the arc as they quickly racked up an early 19-point lead and coasted to the win. Nate Wiebe paced the Knights with 22. Indy Hallet added 19, Jake Sabbagh 15, Josh Flood 8, Aiden Borne 6, Max Becker 5, Ethan Gray 4, R.J. Stone 4, Sam Calderwood 3 and Owen Christophe 2, while Jaxon Giles was scoreless. The Knights hit 35-73 (.479) from the floor, 14-24 (.583) from the arc and 4-10 from the line, while garnering 36 boards, including 16 on the offensive glass, 13 fouls, 18 assists, 14 turnovers, 1 block and 12 steals. Connor Elliott paced the Gryphons with 18. Daimeohn Chapman added 11, Alec Boegman 9, Sam Zhao 9 and Leo Huang 7, while Corin Wallace, Finnbar Sweney, Diego Morganstern, Ian Ferguson, Parker Dix and Dylan Hemphill were scoreless. The Gryphons (coach Harvey Thorau, assistant Steve King, manager Mika Kuehl) hit 23-61 (.377) from the floor, 2-10 from the arc and 6-17 (.353) from the line, while garnering 24 boards, including 9 on the offensive glass, 10 fouls, 6 assists, 17 turnovers, 1 block and 10 steals.
In the last quarterfinal, the 3rd-seeded Unity Christian Flames blasted the 6th-seeded Vancouver St. John’s Eagles 92-55 after leading 25-12, 52-20 and 80-31 at the quarters. The Flames dominated the paint, forcing the Eagles to almost exclusively a perimeter game. “We have a very athletic, fast team with height we obviously want to score a lot of points, but defence comes first,” Flames coach David Bron told Varsity Letters. Wilclair Neufeld led the Flames with 12. Wilton Haan added 14, Keegan Schuurman 13, along with 13 boards, Colton Vanderkooi 10, Colby Vanderkooi 8, Wiltosso Neufeld 8, Caleb Graham 7, Brendan Van Veen 2, Andrew Visser 2, Matthew Morisson 2 and Greg deRaadt 2, while Noah Klassen was scoreless. The Flames hit 41-83 (.494) from the floor, 8-24 from the arc and 2-6 from the line, while garnering 53 boards, including 17 on the offensive glass, 16 fouls, 15 assists, 22 turnovers 3 blocks and 15 steals. Eason Tan paced the Eagles with 15. Armaan Sandhu added 10, Martin Chen 9, Tim Chen 8, Aniel Chauhan 4, Steven Li 4, Wesley Lau 2, Oliver Tsai 2 and Satyam Goyal 1, while Alex Smith, Pan Allan, Owen Marburg, Navi Khakh and Allam Sandhu were scoreless. The Eagles (coached by Jonathan Kinman) hit 20-73 (.274) from the floor, 8-29 (.276) from the arc and 7-17 (.412) from the line, while garnering 28 boards, including 10 on the offensive glass, 8 fouls, 8 assists, 23 turnovers, 4 blocks and 11 steals.
In the semis, the top-seeded Chilliwack Highroad Academy Knights dispatched the 5th-seeded Fernie Falcons 79-68. The Falcons led 25-21 after one quarter. The score was knotted at 42 at the half. The Knights led 57-56 after three quarters. But the Knights notched a 12-5 run early in the final quarter to take command after coach Mike Shannon shifted from a 3-2 zone to a half-court 1-2-2 press. “It got us a couple of points and then the guys just gritted it out,” Shannon told Varsity Letters. Fernie coach A.J. Kennedy said “the guys played their hearts out today. We ran out of gas. A couple of small breakdowns … couple of things don’t go your way, foul call, ball out-of-bounds, jump ball, miss a couple of gimme-shots, those small things add up.” Nico Kattenberg paced the Knights with 25 on 11-16 from the floor, 1-1 from the arc, 2-3 from the line, 25 boards, 2 blocks and 2 steals. Aidan Morris added 18 on 7-28 from the floor, 3-14 from the arc, 1-2 from the line, 3 assists and 3 steals. Elijah Grimard notched 14 on 4-16 from the floor, 2-7 from the arc, 4-5 from the line, 6 boards, 3 assists and 4 steals. Dawson Hartskamp added 12 on 4-10 from the floor, 4-4 from the line, 12 boards and 3 assists. Easton Abel scored 10 on 3-12 from the floor, 3-10 from the arc, 1-1 from the line, 6 boards and 3 assists, while Quinn Goosen, Kai Liao, Francky Priebe, Nathan Um, Josh Kerdachi, Ryan Hamilton-Clark and Josiah Gamlak were scoreless. Um nabbed 2 boards. The Knights hit 29-86 (.337) from the floor, 9-34 (.265) from the arc and 12-15 (.800) from the line, while garnering 52 boards, including 25 on the offensive glass, 13 fouls, 12 assists, 19 turnovers, 2 blocks and 11 steals. Asher Hannemann paced the Falcons with 21 on 8-29 from the floor, 3-11 from the arc, 2-6 from the line, 12 boards and 4 assists. Jake Lampman added 18 on 6-23 from the floor, 4-12 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 10 boards, 2 assists and 3 steals. Nesta Malcolm scored 12 on 4-17 from the floor, 1-5 from the arc, 3-4 from the line and 10 boards. Simon Bloemink notched 10 on 4-7 from the floor, 2-3 from the arc, 6 boards, 3 assists and 2 steals. Connor Will added 5 on 2-5 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 1-2 from the line, 6 boards and 3 steals. Ryley Leveque scored 2 on 1-2 from the floor and 2 boards, while Dawn Dimiyacyac, Julien Stewart, Cam Wall, Anton Loewen and Diego Grijalva were scoreless. The Falcons hit 25-83 (.301) from the floor, 10-33 (.303) from the arc and 8-14 (.571) from the line, while garnering 46 boards, including 22 on the offensive glass, 17 fouls, 10 assists, 17 turnovers, 3 blocks and 10 steals.
In the other semi, the 3rd-seeded Chilliwack Unity Christian Flames stomped the 2nd-seeded Kelowna Christian Knights 72-34 after leading 24-13, 36-21 and 60-25 at the quarters. Flames coach Dave Bron told Varsity Letters that “I have not seen our defence play that well. That was a surprise how well everyone bought in. The buy in and the trust? It takes a lot of trust to rotate and leave your guy and that trust that someone is going to have your back and they did it tonight.” Knights coach Dan Benson said “their defence was awesome. That was the lowest (offensive output) we have had in years. We weren’t good and they were good, that’s all there is to say.” Keegan Schuurman paced the Flames with 24 on 9-22 from the floor, 4-10 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 12 boards assists, 3 blocks and 2 steals. Colby Vanderkooi added 20 on 10-15 from the floor, 0-2 from the line, 11 boards, 4 assists and 4 blocks. Wilton Haan notched 10 on 4-9 from the floor, 0-3 from the arc, 2-3 from the line, 4 boards, 2 assists and 7 steals. Wilclair Neufeld added 10 on 5-11 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 0-2 from the line, 5 boards, 2 assists and 2 steals. Colton Vanderkooi scored 4 on 1-8 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc and 1-2 from the line and 5 boards. Wiltosso Neufeld added 2 on 1-9 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc and 3boards. Caleb Graham scored 2 on 1-7 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 4 boards and 5 stels, while Brendan Van Veen, Noah Klassen, Andrew Visser, Matthew Morrison and Greg deRaadt were scoreless. The Flames hit 31-83 (.373) from the floor, 5-23 (.217) from the arc and 5-11 (.455) from the line, while garnering 45 boards, including 11 on the offensive glass, 10 fouls, 13 assists, 15 turnovers, 9 blocks and 19 steals. Jake Sabbagh paced the Knights with 14 on 6-19 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 1-2 from the line, 19 boards, 2 assists, 2 blocks and 2 steals. Indy Hallett added 6 on 3-18 from the floor, 0-9 from the arc, 5 boards and 3 steals. Nate Wiebe notched 6 on 2-6 from the floor, 2-5 from the arc and 2 boards. R.J. Stone scored 3 on 1-5 from the floor, 1-2 from the line and 3 boards. Aiden Borne scored 3 on 1-5 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc and 3 boards. Max Becker added 2 on 1-8 from the floor, 0-2 from the line and 10 boards, while Josh Flood, Owen Christophe, Ethan Gray, Sam Calderwood and Jaxson Giles were scoreless. The Knights hit 14-72 (.194) from the floor, 4-22 (.182) from the arc and 2-10 from the line, while garnering 51 boards, including 17 on the offensive glass, 14 fouls, 5 assists, 24 turnovers, 4 blocks and 8 steals.
In the bronze medal match, the 2nd-seeded Kelowna Christian Knights dusted the 5th-seeded Fernie Falcons 88-56 after leading 23-5, 39-21 and 57-35 at the quarters. Indy Hallett paced the Knights with 39 on 16-35 from the floor, 7-17 from the arc, 0-2 from the line, 12 boards, 4 assists and 3 steals. Jake Sabbagh added 26 on 11-21 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 4-4 from the line, 12 boards, 4 assists and 2 steals. Nate Wiebe notched 15 on 6-18 from the floor, 3-13 from the arc, 0-1 from the line, 3 boards, 5 assists and 3 steals. Max Becker scored 6 on 2-3 from the floor, 2-2 from the line, 14 boards, 3 assists and 2 steals. R.J. Stone added 2 on 1-4 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 3 boards and 2 steals, while Josh Flood, Owen Christophe, Ethan Gray, Aiden Borne, Sam Calderwood and Jaxson Giles were scoreless. The Knights hit 36-87 (.414) from the floor, 10-37 (.270) from the arc and 6-9 from the line, while garnering 54 boards, including 17 on the offensive glass, 12 fouls, 22 assists, 12 turnovers, 2 blocks and 15 steals. Jake Lampman paced the Falcons with 20 on 8-20 from the floor, 2-11 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 3 boards and 4 assists. Asher Hannemann added 15 on 6-23 from the floor, 2-8 from the arc, 1-5 from the line, 7 boards, 2 assists and 5 steals. Nesta Malcolm notched 1 1on 5-19 from the floor, 1-6 from the arc, 0-2 from the line and 6 boards. Diego Grijalva scored 5 on 2-4 from the floor and 1-3 from the arc. Simon Bloemink added 4 on 2-6 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 2-3 from the line, 8 boards, 2 assists and 2 steals, while Dawn Dimiyacyac, Julie Stewart, Cam Wall, Connor Will, Ryley Leveque and Anton Loewen were scoreless. Will nabbed 5 boards. The Falcons (coached by A.J. Kennedy, assisted by Ian Johnson) hit 23-76 (.303) from the floor, 6-31 (.194) from the arc and 4-13 (.308) from the line, while garnering 31 boards, including 10 on the offensive glass, 10 fouls, 9 assists, 20 turnovers, 3 blocks and 10 steals.
In the final, the 3rd-seeded Chilliwack Unity Christian Flames edged the top-seeded Chilliwack Highroad Academy Knights 65-61. The Flames led 18-11 after one quarter. The Knights led 27-26 at the half. The Flames led 44-40 after three quarters. The Flames had lost four times to the Knights during the season but coach David Bron had spoken to his troops about “that universal theme of perseverance in the face of adversity,” Varsity Letters reported. “We talked about when we get tense and uptight, that we had to buy in and trust what our offence was going to give us,” said Bron. “You had to pass the ball and sprint, and you weren’t going to get anything the first time. Then you weren’t going to get anything the second time. But on that third time, we started to get looks. We started to relax and then over the last four minutes, the threes finally started to fall and it was the difference in the game … in a game of inches.” The Flames had struggled to resolve the Knights various zones (a 2-3 and then a 3-2) as Highroad built a seven-point lead in the third quarter behind the efforts of Elijah Grimard and Aidan Morris. But the Flames fought back and eventually took a 50-45 lead on a Colton Vanderkooi trey. Keegan Schuurman and Calieb Graham added treys to make it 56-48 with 4:10 to play. Graham added an and-one to make it 62-54 and the Flames held on for the win. “Championships are so rare and even though I am a young coach, I haven’t ever won one of these,” Bron added. “But it’s a game of inches and even if Highroad had pulled it out, we gained so much through this process … about teamwork and buying in and taking the hard way instead of the easy way. That’s why this is so special.” Knights coach Mike Shannon said “my guys played their hearts out. You take it as it comes. It would have been nice but it was not in the cards. One in overtime, then by two points, six points, and then 29 points, and all on our side. But they were on a high. They did a great job.” Bron told BChighschoolbasketballchampionships.com that he called a timeout in the second half and told his troops to take a deep the message was to take a deep breath and play rock, paper, scissors. “Mentally, we needed to snap out of it. Three or four guys started smiling and then we were like ‘here’s what we have to do’. You need players to make plays and they listened.” Tournament MVP Keegan Schuurman said “it is surreal. We have been working for this for so long, being the underdog, it just feels amazing. … It took a while in the season for us to leave our own man and trust there was a guy behind us to help us out, but once it clicked, we were a beast defensively. It paid off.” Bron said “just for the boys to see that hard work does pay off and taking hard coaching pays off and doing the uncomfortable pays off. I love those boys, I really do. They have taken some hard coaching from me and we have worked through some stuff and now we get the reward.” Knights coach Mike Shannon said the Flames “were flying high, they played really, really good. My guys played their hearts out so we will take it as it comes.” Caleb Graham paced the Flames with 18 on 6-15 from the floor, 2-6 from the arc, 4-6 from the line, 6 boards and 3 assists. Tournament MVP Keegan Schuurman added 15 on 6-13 from the floor, 2-7 from the arc, 1-2 from the line, 9 boards, 4 assists and 2 steals. Wilton Haan notched 10 on 3-11 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 4-8 from the line and 4 boards. Colton Vanderkooi scored 8 on 2-10 from the floor, 2-8 from the arc, 2-2 from the line and 3 assists. Defensive player of the tournament Colby Vanderkooi added 6 on 3-6 from the floor, 0-2 from the line and 10 boards. Andrew Visser notched 3 on 1-1 from the arc. Wilchair Neufeld scored 3 on 1-7 from the floor, 1-2 from the line, 3 assists and 4 steals. Player of the game Wiltosso Neufeld added 2 on 0-1 from the floor and 2-2 from the line, while Brendan Van Veen, Noah Klassen, Matthew Morrison and Greg deRaadt were scoreless. The Flames hit 22-64 (.344) from the floor, 7-23 (.304) from the arc and 14-24 (.583) from the line, while garnering 31 boards, including 10 on the offensive glass, 16 fouls, 16 assists, 21 turnovers, 1 block and 8 steals. Elijah Grimard paced the Knights with 30 on 10-25 from the floor, 3-5 from the arc, 7-12 from the line, 10 boards, 2 assists, 2 blocks and 3 steals. Aidan Morris added 13 on 5-21 from the floor, 2-10 from the arc, 1-2 from the line, 5 boards and 2 assists. Easton Abel notched 11 on 4-10 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc, 2-2 from the line and 3 steals. Nico Kattenberg added 4 on 1-5 from the floor, 2-2 from the line, 6 boards, 2 assists and 3 steals. Dawson Hartskamp scored 3 on 1-7 from the floor, 12 from the line and 8 boards, while Quinn Goosen, Kai Liao, Francky Priebe, Natham Um, Josh Kerdachi, Ryan Hamilton-Clark and Josiah Gamlak were scoreless. The Knights hit 21-70 (.300) from the floor, 6-20 (.300) from the arc and 13-20 (.650) from the line, while garnering 32 boards, including 9 on the offensive glass, 19 fouls, 8 assists, 15 turnovers, 3 blocks and 11 steals.
The 2nd-team featured: Cameron Kerslake (Barriere); Asher Hannemann (Fernie); Devan Boyko (Gudangaay Tlaats’gaa Naay); Jake Sabbagh (Kelowna Christian); and Colton Vander Kooi (Unity Christian).
The bronze medalist Kelowna Christian Knights: R.J Stone; Indy Hallett; Jake Sabbagh; Josh Flood; Owen Christophe; Ethan Gray; Aiden Borne; Nate Wiebe; Sam Calderwood; Jaxson Giles; Max Becker; coach Dan Benson; assistant Sol Benson; assistant Tim Martens; assistant Jackson Strother
The silver medalist Chilliwack Highroad Academy Knights: Quinn Goosen; Easton Abel; Kai Liao; Francky Priebe; Nathan Um; Elijah Grimard; Nico Kattenberg; Josh Kerdachi; Dawson Hartskamp; Ryan Hamilton-Clark; Josiah Gamlak; Aidan Morris; coach Mike Shannon; assistant Weston Johnsrude; assistant Stuart Morris; manager Elijah Chadsey; manager Seanna Rudance; manager Annika Johnsrude
The gold medalist Chilliwack Unity Christian Flames: Wiltosso Neufeld; Wilton Haan; Brendan Van Veen; Caleb Graham; Noah Klassen; Keegan Schuurman; Andrew Visser; Wilclair Neufeld; Colby Vanderkooi; Colton Vanderkooi; Matthew Morrison; Greg deRaadt; coach Dave Bron; assistant Matt Van Muyen; assistant Noah Klassen