In the opening round, held in Langley: …………………………………………………… The 8th-seeded Golden Eagles nipped the 9th-seeded Surrey Ecole Gabrielle-Roy Phenix 53-52. The Eagles led 12-6 after one quarter and 26-21 at the half. The Phenix led 40-36 after three quarters. Jacob Tetrault paced the Eagles with 22. Carter Thorne added 14, Victor Todorov 8, Lance Southcott 5, Seth Rondeau 2 and Brody Auclair 2, while Archie Penute, Teg Ariss Singh, Hayden Tataryn, Hunter Thorne, Jaxsyn Larose, Zach Farnsworth, Kai Sinclair-Hobbes and Henry Stonehouse were scoreless. Kevin Musongela paced the Phenix with 16. Joshua Amani added 11, Nathan Likele 8, Aiden Moison 5, Yohanes Mohammed 4, Ayobam Musongela 3, Danic Brodeur 3 and Jenovic Jubikila 2, while Joyeux Migezo, Pierre Chua-Parmar, Gabriel Wege and Augustin Lanteri-Mathieu were scoreless. The Phenix (coach Mack Akoar, assistant Darren Manweiler, athletic director Guillaume Labert) also included David Hekima. …………………………………………………… The 4th-seeded Kamloops St. Ann’s Academy Crusaders mauled the 13th-seeded Campbell River Christian Cougars 84-47 after leading 20-10, 40-26 and 72-37 at the quarters. Jacob Eichenbergar paced the Crusaders with 20. Nash Pearce added 18, Aiden Sethen 17, Mauro Lama 7, Austin Sethen 6, Ryder Corsi 6, Brennan Coetzer 6, Jack Bacon 2 and Thomas Balison, Mutsa Kanyangu, Sam Directo, Luke Oyler, Nik Dimopoulos were scoreless. Jacob Manky scored 17 to pace the Cougars (coach Derek Bird). Bobby Sunner added 16, Isiah Nagtegaal 9 and Teo Higgens 5, while Nolan Carmichael-Barnes, Josh Krestinski, Brady Sewid-Creelman, Josiah Hart, Noah Hart, Alex Alguire and Keerat Bains were scoreless. …………………………………………………… The 5th-seeded Vancouver King David Lions clocked the 12th-seeded Osoyoos Rattlers 67-43. The Rattlers led 18-10 after one quarter and 27-24 at the half. The Lions led 48-34 after three quarters. Arel Steen paced the Lions with 32. Kristian Galazka added 10, Eitan Arazi 10, Paul Zychlinski 8, Levy Arazi 3, Leo Kallner 2 and Ethan Averbuch 2, while Orian Yona, Noah Robibo, Max Forman, Nikki Sandler, Dan Mizrachi, Liron Steen, Natan Grunau and Max Koeningbaur were scoreless. Preston Pederson and Jackson Lake each scored 14 to pace the Rattlers (coach Gene Lockerby, assistant Ryan Street, athletic director Samantha Wiebe). Armaan Gill added 5, Parwan Sidhu 5, Shuyoum Dahal 4 and Chris Bojanowski 1, while Harkamal Mann, Manny Gill, G.T. Dhillon, Miles Markie and Luke Tarasoff were scoreless. …………………………………………………… The 3rd-seeded Kitsilano St. John’s School Eagles torched the 14th-seeded McBride Mustangs 113-67 after leading 28-19, 61-40 and 88-62 at the quarters. Viv Anderson-Francois paced the Eagles with 38. Kian Afshar added 15, Sam Yazdi 11, Lucas Pawlowski 11, Ethan Botham 10, Aaron Lo 9, Ryan Yochlowitz 6, Lukas Tudorie 5, Remi Anderson-Francois 4, Philip Wong 2 and Nathan Brown 2, while Ryan Zhao, Thomas O’Hagan, Louis Lin and Jack Kincaid were scoreless. Jeremiah Alspaugh scored 23 to pace the Mustangs (coach Peter Hulka, assistant Lisa Hulka, trainer Stan Keim, trainer Jody Kein, athletic director Dan Kenkel) with 23. Matthias Hulka added 22, Parker Williamson 8, Keagan Vandermeulen 8 and Troy McFarland 6, while Erik Antypov, Isaac Franke, Jacob Jones, Keller Vandermeulen and Seth Hruby were scoreless. …………………………………………………… The 7th-seeded Keremeos Similkameen Sparks edged the 10th-seeded Prince George Cedars Christian Eagles 68-66. The Eagles led 28-24, 40-28 and 47-46 at the quarters. Darion Eustache-Peone paced the Sparks with 19. Balkaran Lidhar added 17, Ethan Potash 15, Harman Sidhu 9, Rain Marsden 6 and Jasdeep Dhaliwal 2, while Nate Weber, Jr Louie, Krishon Terbasket and Sukhwinderpal Dhaliwal were scoreless. Ryan Crosina scored 24 to pace the Eagles (coach Jeff Ludditt, assistant Frank Crosina, manager Dany Tekeng, athletic director Steve Wilson). Cole Staves added 19, Kaeden Paulsen 10, Josh Olatubosun 4, Olu Okebie 4, Liam Reusch 3 and Neil Henderson 2, while Markus Buhler, Joe Redden, Levi Petkau, Jonah Oliver and Jacob Claus were scoreless. …………………………………………………… The 2nd-seeded Maple Ridge Christian Hornets spanked the 15th-seeded Victoria Brookes Westshore Gryphons 81-61 after leading 14-9, 40-30 and 57-44 at the quarters. Carson Barber paced the Hornets with 37. Makar Golotin added 27, Nolan Reaveley 6, Eli Arrington 4, Micaiah Unger 3, Jayden Attarmigirian 2 and Connor Riley 2, while Elijah Born, Carter Evancic, Caleb Arrington, Joey Gagnon, Adriano Granata were scoreless. Trustan Boxshall paced the Gryphons with 25. Logan Harrold added 20, Kura Shiba 12, Noam Lamwertz 2 and Justin Wu 2, while Armando Prida del Rio, Elijah Liu, Taishi Oda, Mahad Cheema, Shaun Annin-Bonsu, Fawa Ilupeju, Rylan Ng and Kura Shiba were scoreless. The Gryphons (coach Isaac Salvador-Brown, assistant Luke Haubrich) also included Andy Zhong, Dylan Gardner and Koichiro Sakakihara. …………………………………………………… The 6th-seeded Daajing Gids Gidgalang Kuuyas Naay Breakers dusted the 11th-seeded Duncan Christian Chargers 83-64 after leading 34-20, 56-36 and 72-48 at the quarters. Loay Almahmiid paced the Brakers with 21. Greg Puterill added 20, Temo Laughlin 14, Levi Burton 10, Logan Jones 6, Trace Swain 5, Riley Duke 3, River Michaeloff 2 and Daris Peerless 2, while Lief Morton and Ezra Bowey were scoreless. Grayson Dunn paced the Chargers with 18. Ethan Mitchell added 15, Ezra Wall 12, Daniel Van Donkersgoed 6, Inho Baek 5, Zane Wall 3, River Lewis 3 and Luke Morrison 2, while Caden Morrison and Nick Abi Hanna were scoreless. The Chargers (coach Carl MacDonald, assistant Mike Dunn, manager Sondra Neudorf) also included Henric Henry and Tyler Wilson. …………………………………………………… The top-seeded Chilliwack Unity Christian Flames stomped the 16th-seeded Falcons 7-37 after leading 20-8, 41-18 and 65-34 at the quarters. Ryun Fukumoto paced the Flames with 15. Luke Graham added 14, Ryder Vanderkooi 14, Ryan Post 10, Jay Smiens 8, Rio Kingma 5, Nathan De Visser 3, James Deraadt 3, Aaron Flokstra 2, Luke McGee 2 and Shogo Moradeyo 2, while Chris Janssen and Caleb Friesen were scoreless. Carson Wenger paced the Falcons with 12. Nate Lantz added 9, Dion Abraham 5, Aaron McVey 4, J.T. Hayter 4 and Wyatt Olesiuk 3, while Skyler Hanks, Zander Sagalon, Brennan O’Bee, Aaron Dalziel and Isaiah Whynacht were scoreless.
In the quarterfinals, the 2nd-seeded Maple Ridge Christian Hornets crushed the 7th-seeded Keremeos Similkameen Sparks 87-68 after leading 17-15, 42-36 and 65-55 at the quarters. The Hornets began trapping the Sparks in the second quarter as they built a double-digit lead but Similkameen slowed the tempo and pounded the ball inside to Reid Mardsen as they rallied to within 6 at the break. Makar Golotin ignited an 11-2 run as the Hornets took command in the third quarter, with Carson Barber all but icing the win with three consecutive buckets in the final fram. “That’s my favorite player (Golotin), and pretty much every other coach that I see that’s their favorite player too,” Hornets coach Brad Shearing told Varsity Letters. “We know we’re a small team, so we just got to push the ball. We aren’t successful when we play slow. If we go fast, teams usually struggle to keep up.” Carson Barber paced the Hornets with 24. Conner Riley added 19, Makar Golotin 15, Eli Arrington 15, Joey Gagnon 8, Micaiah Unger 4 and Nolan Reaveley 2, while Jay Attarmigirian, Elijah Born, Carter Evancic, Caleb Arrington and Adriano Granata were scoreless. Rain Marsden scored 21 to pace the Sparks (coach Mishak Potash, assistant Billy Potash, manager Nobal Bhathal, athletic director James Brown). Ethan Potash added 20, Darion Eustache-Peone 17, Balkaran Lidhar 7 and Harman Sidhu 3, while Nate Weber, Jasdeep Dhaliwal, Jr Love, Krishon Terbasket and Sukwinderpal Dhaliwal were scoreless.
The 6th-seeded Daajing Gids Gidgalang Kuuyas Naay Breakers dispatched the 3rd-seeded Kitsilano St. John’s School Eagles 79-72. The score was knotted at 18 after one quarter. The Eagles opened the second frame with an 11-3 run but Greg Puterill and Loay Almahmiid began dominating the boards and the paint as the Breakers rallied to take a 39-37 lead at the half. Although Viv Anderson-Francois began effectively off the dribble in the third quarter, the Breakers took a 57-49 lead heading into the final frame and took command as point guard Levi Burton masterfully dictated the tempo. Anderson-Francois hit a pair of treys as the Eagles rallied to within five down the stretch before the Breakers iced it at the line. “We play village basketball. We’re from Haida Gwaii. We played Haida-style right at the end of the day,” Breakers coach Desi Collinson told Varsity Letters. “These guys know the colors that they’re representing, and that’s the beautiful thing because we practice culture. We live, and we breathe culture, and we know what we’re representing here at the end of the day.” Eagles coach Jonathan Kinman said “Their physicality, we knew, was going to be an issue because we’re small and young.” Levi Burton paced the Breakers with 24. Greg Puterill added 18, Loay Almahmiid 16, Temo Laughlin 8, Logan Jones 7 and Trace Swain 6, while River Michaeloff, Daris Peerless, Lief Morton, Riley Duke and Ezra Bowey were scoreless. Viv Anderson-Francois paced the Eagles with 32. Philip Wong added 11, Kian Afshar 10, Sam Yazdi 9, Aaron Lo 6, Remi Anderson-Francois 2 and Lucas Pawlowski 2, while Ryan Zhao, Lukas Tudorie, Thomas O’Hagan, Louis Lin, Ryan Yochlowitz, Ethan Botham and Nathan Brown were scoreless. The Eagles (coach Jonathan Kinman, coach Andrew Ilkiw) also included Jack Kincaid and Rohan Chada.
The 4th-seeded Kamloops St. Ann’s Academy Crusaders clipped the 5th-seeded Vancouver King David Lions 77-67 after leading 23-14, 37-32 and 55-42 at the quarters. Crusaders coach Jason Eichenbergar told Varsity Letters that the team has been overcoming adversity all season: “There’s going to be adversity, and it comes in different forms. It could be foul trouble, right? It could be shots not falling, whatever it is, we try our best to help the players through it. … We got into early foul trouble, and we had to take two starters off the floor, so we were just trying to stay in the game at that point.” Led the Paul Zychlinski, the Lions roared back with 6 with three minutes to play. Eichenberg called a timeout. “I was just trying to get them to stay calm, right? They hit that three late to bring it within six, and we didn’t do a very good job of taking care of the ball there for about four possessions in a row, and luckily, it didn’t cost us the game.” The Crusaders then iced the win with critical free throws from Nash Pearce down the stretch. Nash Pearce paced the Crusaders with 25. Jacob Eichenbergar added 14, Ryder Corsi 13, Mauro Lama 13, Brennan Coetzer 6, Jack Bacon 3 and Aiden Sethen 3, while Mutsa Kanyangu, Austin Sethen, Sam Directo, Luke Oyler, Nik Dimopoulos and Thomas Balison were scoreless. Paul Zychlinski paced the Lions with 27. Arel Steen added 17, Kristian Galazka 9, Eitan Arazi 7, Leo Kallner 3 and Natan Grunau 3, while Orian Yona, Noah Robibo, Max Forman, Nikki Sandler, Dan Mizrachi, Liron Steen, Josh Bressler, David Helper and Levy Arazi were scoreless. The Lions (coach David Amran, assistant Matt Dichter, assistant Cale McDonald) also included Max Koenigbaur, Ethan Averbuch, David Helper and Ben Schapiro.
In the last quarterfinal, the top-seeded Chilliwack Unity Christian Flames torched the 8th-seeded Golden Eagles 94-42 after leading 21-5, 50-15 and 78-27 at the quarters. Flames coach David Bron told Varsity Letters that “we’re not focused on the pressure of being ranked number one. We went through all the things we were not focused on, and then we went through the stuff we were focused on. We just stayed the course with that, and I think we did a pretty good job all the way through tonight.” Jay Smiens paced the Flames with 17. Ryun Fukumoto added 10, Ryder Vanderkooi 10, Ryan Post 9, Shogo Moradeyo 7, Caleb Friesen 7, Nathan De Visser 6, Luke Graham 5, Rio Kingma 5, Chris Janssen 4, Aaron Flokstra 4, James Deraadt 3 and Luke McGee 2. Henry Stonehouse scored 8 to pace the Eagles (coach Curt Thorne, assistant Taj Manhas, manager Navnett Rondeau, athletic director Rhys Badenoch). Jacob Tetrault added 6, Hayden Tataryn 5, Brody Auclair 5, Kai Sinclair-Hobbes 4, Teg Ariss Singh 3, Hunter Thorne 3, Lance Southcott 3, Victor Todorov 3 and Jaxsyn Larose 2, while Archie Penute, Seth Rondeau, Cater Thorne and Zach Farnsworth were scoreless.
In the semis, 6th-seeded Daajing Gids Gidgalang Kuuyas Naay Breakers nipped the 2nd-seeded Maple Ridge Christian Hornets 72-71. The Hornets led 19-11, 35-34 and 54-48 at the quarters. Trailing by double digits in the final frame after Hornet Caleb Arrington, who’d missed the quarterfinals with a sprained ankle, began draining jumpers, the Breakers rallied to the lead as point guard Levi Burton began aggressively attacking off the dribble for layups. Carson Barber answered with double-clutch layup. With a minute to play, Barber again drove the paint. Two Breakers converged on him and player of the game Temo Laughlin emerged with the ball, heaved it up court to Loay Almamiid who laid it in for the winning bucket. A last-ditch bid by the Hornets was denied in the paint by Laughlin. Breakers coach Desi Collinson told Varsity Letters that “you know, we’re a small school. A lot of us are First Nations. We’re unique in every sort of sense. These boys live together, play together, and play in the village gym together. They know exactly what they’re up against, and that fuels fire within them. … (Despite the double-digit deficit), everything was okay because I know how we can play. I know the style that we play as I’ve already said to you before. I know that we’re going to go on runs. There are ups, there are downs. I know we’ll do the most to win. … They know how to represent their community and their people. That’s basically what they thrive off, and they know how to play basketball while doing it, right? They’re individuals with purpose.” Player of the game Temo Laughlin paced the Breakers with 24, including 4 treys. Levi Burton added 16, Loay Almahmiid 16, Trace Swain 14 and Greg Puterill 2, while River Michaeloff, Daris Peerless, Lief Morton, Riley Duke, Logan James and Ezra Bowey were scoreless. Carson Barber paced the Hornets with 31. Caleb Arrington added 16, Makar Golotin 12, Nolan Reaveley 9 and Eli Arrington 3, while Jayden Attarmigirian, Micaiah Unger, Elijah Born, Connor Riley, Carter Evancic, Joey Gagnon and Adriano Granata were scoreless.
In the other semi, the top-seeded Chilliwack Unity Christian Flames clipped the 4th-seeded Kamloops St. Ann’s Academy Crusaders 77-63 after leading 19-2 early, 28-13, 43-25 and 63-40 at the quarters. The Crusaders rallied to within 12 in the final frame but Smiens kept attacking off the dribble for floaters and layups as the Flames pulled out the win. Flames coach David Bron told Varsity Letters that point guard Jay Smiens had an exceptional outing. “Oh man, I’m so happy for him. He’s a beauty kid. He’s a competitor, a fighter, and today, his focus was fantastic. He was helping players, calling switches, and setting our guys up. It was a quarterback-type play performance. … (In the second half), “we gave up some offensive rebounds, and they had easy putbacks, then all of a sudden they came back in the fourth there and made us nervous. I just told their coach they could have broken at any point, and it’s so hard to play and to push back when you’re down 20. That was just incredible. That was a character performance.” Jay Smiens paced the Flames with 36. Luke Graham added 10, Ryun Fukumoto 9, Ryan Post 8, Aaron Flokstra 6 and Luke McGee 2, while Nathan de Visser, James Deraadt, Shogo Moradeyo, Ryder Vanderkooi, Chris Janssen, Rio Kingma and Caleb Friesen were scoreless. Aidan Sethen led the Crusaders with 19. Nash Pearce added 14, Jacob Eichenbergar 9, Mauro Lama 9, Ryder Corsi 6, Brennan Coetzer 4 and Austin Sethen 2, while Muta Kanyangu, Jack Bacon, Sam Directo, Luke Oyler, Nik Dimopoulos and Thomas Balison were scoreless.
In the bronze medal match, the 4th-seeded Kamloops St. Ann’s Academy Crusaders dispatched the 2nd-seeded Maple Ridge Christian Hornets 85-71 after leading 23-17, 47-40 and 67-52 at the quarters. Nash Pearce paced the Crusaders with 27. Aiden Sethen added 23, Mauro Lama 18, Ryder Corsi 9, Jacob Eichenbergar 6 and Brennan Coetzer 2, while Mutsa Kanyangu, Austin Sethen, Jack Bacon, Sam Directo, Luke Oyler, Nik Dimopoulos and Thomas Balison were scoreless. Caleb Arrington scored 23 to lead the Hornets (coach Brad Shearing, coach Emmanuel Atte, athletic director Laurel Charlong). Carson Barber added 17, Eli Arrington 12, Makar Golotin 11, Jayden Attarmigirian 3, Connor Riley 3 and Nolan Reaveley 2, while Micaiah Unger, Elijah Born, Carter Evancic, Joey Gagnon and Adriano Granata were scoreless.
In the final, the top-seeded Chilliwack Unity Christian Flames captured their third title in four seasons by edging the 6th-seeded Daajing Gids Gidgalang Kuuyas Naay Breakers 74-71. The Flames led 20-12, 37-34 and 53-49 at the quarters. Point guard and tournament MVP Jay Smiens nailed a trey early in the fourth quarter to ignite a critical 15-5 run. The Breakers Greg Puterill and Loay Almahmiid fought fercociously on the boards to give Gidgalang a 64-62 lead. But when Almahmiid fouled out with 4 minutes to play and Trace Swain followed suit two minutes later, the momentum shifted to the Flames as they took a 72-66 lead and hung on for the win. Breaker Temo Laughlin’s attempt to knot the score at the buzzer with a trey clanged off the rim. “This feels great,” Smiens told Varsity Letters. “Last year, (in the final) we underestimated (King David). We made sure we came in ready this year.” Flames coach David Bron said “that was one of the hardest games I’ve ever had to coach. When all the momentum was against us – it felt like it anyway – our boys managed to turn it back. I’m super happy. … That fourth quarter was kind of an out-of-body experience. When you are ranked first, you expect to play a certain way, and then you don’t, so I could tell the guys were down. My guys finally lit up; it was a grind until then.” The Flames size advantage yielded a 79-62 edge on the boards, including 38 on the offensive glass. Breakers coach Desi Collinson said “that was a big time situation for us. We’re all playing with four (fouls) and that puts us in the deep end again. I’m trying to say the right thing because I’m feeling a little bit disappointed and upset with how things played out at the end. I felt like that was our game, should have been our game and I still believe that right now that that was our game. … Us always stepping into a different environment and having to morph and adapt to those situations I feel is sometimes a little unfair. But that just may be my emotions overcoming me. But it is the province, it is B.C. and there is going to be different colors, different ethnic backgrounds . . . so, us stepping into a different environment, we’re always up against adversity. … It’s giving other small schools, not just First Nations, not just minorities, it’s giving them inspiration. That’s the purpose of life, in my opinion, to inspire others.” Levi Burton said “it hurts knowing we only made it to second (place). We knew we were underdogs coming in. No one knew who we were. The northwest zone is the least known zone in the province. Me and Temo have been dreaming about this for three years. It’s just heartbreaking we couldn’t finish it.” Jay Smiens and Ryder Vanderkooi each scored 22 to pace the Flames. Vanderkooi nabbed 19 boards. Ryun Fukumoto scored 8, Ryan Post 7, along with 10 boards, Rio Kingma 5, Luke Grahan 5, Luke McGee 3 and Caleb Friesen 2, while Nathan De Visser, James Deraadt, Aaron Flokstra, Shogo Moradeyo and Chris Janssen were scoreless. Levi Burton paced the Breakers with 20, along with 8 assists. Trace Swain added 19, Temo Laughlin 13, player of the game Greg Puterill 11, along with 10 boards, Loay Almahmiid 6 and Logan James 2, while River Michaeloff, Daris Peerless, Lief Morton, Riley Duke and Ezra Bowey were scoreless.
The all-tournament team featured MVP Jay Smiens (Unity Christian); Levi Burton (Gidgalang Kuuyas Naay); Temo Laughlin (Gidgalang Kuuyas Naay); Ryun Fukumoto (Unity Christian); Nash Pearce (St. Ann’s); and Carson Barber (Maple Ridge Christian).
The 2nd team featured Greg Puterill (Gidgalang Kuuyas Naay); Viv Anderson-Francois (St. John’s); Darion Eustache Peone (Similkameen); and Mauro Lama (St. Ann’s)
The bronze medalist Kamloops St. Ann’s Academy Crusaders: Nash Pearce; Aiden Sethen; Mauro Lama; Ryder Corsi; Jacob Eichenbergar; Brennan Coetzer; Mutsa Kanyangu; Austin Sethen; Jack Bacon; Sam Directo; Luke Oyler; Nik Dimopoulos; Thomas Balison; coach Jason Eichenbergar; athletic director Byron Green
The silver medalist Daajing Gids Gidgalang Kuuyas Naay Breakers: Temo Laughlin; Levi Burton; Loay Almahmiid 16; Trace Swain; Greg Puterill; River Michaeloff; Daris Peerless; Lief Morton; Riley Duke; Logan Jones; Ezra Bowey; coach Desi Collinson; assistant Duane Alsop; assistant Colin Greenough?; coach? Dan Burton; athletic director Debi Laughlin
The champion Chilliwack Unity Christian Flames: Jay Smiens; Luke Graham; Ryun Fukumoto; Ryan Post; Ryder Corsi; Aaron Flokstra; Luke McGee; Nathan de Visser; James Deraadt; Shogo Moradeyo; Ryder Vanderkooi; Chris Janssen; Rio Kingma; Caleb Friesen; coach Dave Bron; assistant Matt Van Muyen; assistant Noah Klassen; athletic director Dwayne Hansen