In the opening round: …………………………………………………… The Langley Walnut Grove Gators dumped the Burnaby South Secondary Rebels 82-67 as Kevin Jackel scored 26. Dan Cooper added 18, while nabbing 21 boards, including 7 on the offensive glass. Joel Wollenberg scored 18, Tyson Compton 18 and Zak Syens 2, while Mike Young, Graham Gillies, Shawn McDonald, Dylan Williamson, Alex Curl, Jordan Muxworthy, Karl Zeller and Brandon Forrest were scoreless. Satpal Dosanjh paced Burnaby South with 25. Preston Kutney added 10, Ethan MacKinnon 10, Miljan Stojanovic 8, William Acosta 2 and Cody Cormack 2, while Wilfrid Lok, Gurgh Saroya, Bill Zhou, Jerome Braithwaite, Derek Jui, Hanlon Wu, Jon Schmidt, Akshat Khurana and Shawn Hafez were scoreless. The score was knotted at 35 at the half. Walnut Grove point guard Kevin Jackel, son of former Simon Fraser great Mike Jackel, was the difference, said teammate Dan Cooper. “I think Jackel is one of the best point guards in the province. I mean he can distribute the ball as well as anyone, as well as score.” Kutney missed his first 10 shots. “I guess it took me awhile to adjust to the wide-open surroundings. Everything felt right but then I just came up short.” South started out strong enough jumping out to a 20-12 lead. But then the Gators bared their teeth on the boards running off 13 straight points. Dan Cooper had the sharpest elbows bringing down 17 rebounds in the first half, 21 in the game. The Rebels managed to pull it back to 35-35 at halftime with Satpal Dosanjh scoring 16 of his 25 points in the first 20 two quarters. Another 15-point run at the start of the third quarter and the Gators were licking their chops on a victory. “We talked about keeping them off the boards and we didn’t do that,” said South head coach Greg Matic. “It was the same problem we had against Jobair (Satari) and Burnaby Central. We’re just not tough enough to keep somebody off the boards or not tough enough or aggressive enough. When somebody outworks you, they’re going to beat you. We just didn’t do what we needed to do. We didn’t run, we didn’t support the shots. But what’s most upsetting is we didn’t do something that takes no talent, all it takes is heart and toughness and determination. If you don’t do those things you don’t deserve it.” Dosanjh said “the reason we lost is because we couldn’t rebound. That was a problem we had throughout the season. That’s the one thing we just had to do to win and we didn’t do it. They adjusted to us in the second half and we didn’t adjust to it. We were sloppy with turnovers.” …………………………………………………… The Abbotsford Yale Lions stomped the Cranbrook Mount Baker Wild 85-57 Brad Kufske scored 23, Josh Kufske 19 and Jasper Moedt 15, while nabbing 18 boards. Joel Friesen added 7, Jordan Brown 6, Nathan Kendall 4, David Thompson 2, Mike Verhuel 2 and Ian Perry 2, while M. Klassen, Kyle Konrad, Kees Vanleeuwen and Tristan Grunthaler were scoreless. Cam McConnell and Colton Bradford each scored 16 to pace the Wild. Kaleb Pendarker added 11, Talon Jones 8, Dave Sudsbear 2, Chris Gauer 2 and Chris Darula 2, while Blake McCallum, Lee Attwood, Adam Fuchs, Derek Tymchyna, Dan Halber and Jared Johnson were scoreless. Yale led 51-22 at the half. Yale head coach Al Friesen said his biggest task was helping his young troops maintain their focus. “They are still kids and some of them are nervous. After the game we talked about what I call washing other people’s feet. And that means asking how much you willing to do for each other. We are a young team, but we are very good. We can beat anybody in this tournament on a given day, and if we play anybody here three times there is no way they can beat us three in a row. But do we have the maturity and the smarts to get over the hump? I hope so.” Yale began the game on an 11-2 run capped by a Brad Kufske three-pointer, before running into a few speed bumps against Mt. Baker’s full-court pressure. It was a feast-or-famine situation for the Lions for several possessions – if they were able to cross halfcourt against the Wild press, they generally had an easy layup. But they also committed a handful of turnovers to allow Mt. Baker to cut into the lead. Eventually, the Lions calmed down and set about blowing out the Wild. Yale ripped off a 26-7 run that bridged the first and second quarters, and took a 47-17 lead on a three-ball by Joel Friesen with two minutes left in the first half. Mt. Baker never threatened in the second half. The Yale posts, Josh Kufske and Jasper Moedt, encountered little opposition in the paint. Guard Brad Kufske was named Yale’s player of the game. Kufske said the Lions just needed a little time to work the jitters out of their systems, and to adjust to the sight lines in the cavernous Agrodome. “We were a little nervous,” he admitted. “And it’s a little different than playing in normal gyms – there’s no backdrop here, and the floor is a little different.” …………………………………………………… The Victoria Oak Bay Bays defeated the Prince George Kelly Road Roadrunners 82-71 as Manny Pasquale scored 25, Eliot Rushton 18, Dylan Jones 9, Marc Howatson 8, Scott Metcalf 7, Kevin Pribilsky 7, Patrick Mascall 4, Scott Grant 2 and Reid Fraser 2, while Reid Turner and Spencer Ewart were scoreless. Jesse Greenwood paced the Roadrunners with 30. Dennis Stark added 18, Carson McNaughton 9, Daley Wylie 4, Kayle Sandy 5 and Curtis Travers 4, while Nigel Radway, Stuart Toop, Daniel Stark, Jeff Calder and Liam Hood were scoreless. Oak Bay led 38-37 at the half. Marc Howatson, a 6-7 provincial team volleyball player gave the Bays a great inside presence, joining the team at midseason. “It has been a huge addition for us,” said Oak Bay head coach Ted Anderson of Howatson, who on Tuesday had 10 rebounds, eight points and a pair of steals off the bench. “It’s the athleticism that he brings to our team. He has come in and the rest of the guys have just responded.” …………………………………………………… The Surrey White Rock Christian Academy Warriors dumped the Terrace Caledonia Kermodes 83-67 as Jordan Mara scored 28, Nick DeKoster 12, Eli Mara 9, Iain Con 6, Will Con 6, Brian Fougner 5, Colin Weeres 5, Pascal Doppenberg 4, Spencer McLean 4, Carl Johnston 2, Riley Barker 1, and Tonner Jackson 2, while Chase Lee, Daniel Rendon, Alex Morrison and Mark Shewfelt were scoreless. Jesiah Bartley led the Kermodes with 18. Daniel Mercer-Young added 14, Jon Hanna 10, Malcolm Mensah 10, Edward Dennis 7, Sheldon Paulson 4, Jordan Tran 3 and Kory Botelho 1, while Alex Redpath, Graeme Austin, Sunny Parmer and Robby Keeler were scoreless. WRCA led 44-31 at the half. Kermodes coach Cam MacKay said his troops were unaccustomed to the Warriors pressure defence, which triggered a 19-0 run before Caledonia even got a shot. “When you play up north, and you don’t see that every day it can be tough. Just coming into this gym, for us, is bigger than anything a lot of our guys have ever seen. My little guard (Jon Hanna) walks in here and he looks up (inside the Agrodome) and he just goes ‘Oh my God!’” But wing Malcolm Mensah was stellar for a grade 10 kid, MacKay added. “Physically, he not that strong in the upper body yet. But he gets his hands on everything close to the basket and he’s got a great first step to the hoop. He definitely changes your shot. But the big thing was that this was just a great opportunity for him to see what this tournament is all about. And now, he knows.”
In the second round: …………………………………………………… The Vancouver Kitsilano Blue Demons defeated the Kelowna Owls 78-68 as Clayton Crellin scored 30, Yassine Ghomari 14, Jeff Lightburn 11, Tommy Nixon 8, Jake Moodie 6, Bill Lee 6 and Chris Mulangu 3, while Henry Allan, Jungho Hyun, Keir Miron, Lolomon Ahmed, Brad Quevillon, Conrad Clark, Henry Williams, James Scoffield and Alex Michalowski were scoreless. Ryan Fahandeg led the Owls with 22. Zack Frehlick added 21, Dean Kmyta 8, Jared Zaleski 8, Brett Weninger 5 and Stu Lang 4, while Dave Peace, Travis McPhail, Jordan Hamilton, Jared Clark, Adam Baptie and Alister Hart were scoreless. Kelowna led 38-32 at the half. The Blue Demons trailed 27-12 early but coach Randy Coutts called a time out and told his troops to loosen up. “So, Mr. Coutts just told us to think about something we liked,” said guard Yassine Ghomari. “Everybody started thinking about their girlfriends and we all started to laugh in the huddle. Then we got our focus back and we started to knock down big shots and we came back to win.” With more pleasant thoughts on their minds, the Blue Demons went on runs of 16-4, 10-0, 11-0 and finally, a game-defining 13-0 run to the fourth-quarter buzzer. Those four runs combined: 50-4. “They were just really tight to start the game,” admitted Coutts. “We missed a lot of bunnies and outside shots that we usually hit. We were under 25 per cent.” Kitsilano’s 6-5 Tommy Nixon scored 8 in his debut. “At the beginning of the year we talked as a team and the philosophy was we would have him play at the Grade 10 level,” said Coutts. “So last week he went to the junior B.C.’s and he had a great experience. He was named a first-team all-star. Today, he led by example. He hit two threes and he played pretty good defence. He creates matchup problems for people.” …………………………………………………… The North Delta Huskies edged the Burnaby St. Thomas More Knights 71-69 as Rob Dhillon scored 21, Cam Clark 18, Mical Ollivierre 18, Brennan Pichor 5, Matt Parno 4, Satbir Jawandha 3 and Gary Bains 2, while Malcolm Lenahan, Pavan Sodhan, Baldeep Rangi, Jaskirat Sodhan, Sean Bassi and Goving Atwal were scoreless. Denny Dumas led the Knights with 19. Mike Cheung added 15, Karol Cybula 13, Jacob Issayas 8, Alex Thierman 7, Curran Emeruwa 6 and Evan Moore 1, while Lam Nguyen, John McCarthy, Nolan Moore, Jordan Wong, Bryan Gill, Tyler Doyle and Steve Farrer were scoreless. Coach Ted Murray, leaving after the season to attend law school, said his troops benefited from their cohesion. “The best thing for me this year is how much this team loves each other and always has a good time. I am not that fun a guy, but they still manage to have a good time. They are a bit of a goofy group off the floor but when it comes to game time, they are ready to compete anytime, anywhere. They want to go out there and win for each other.” The Huskies got a basket from Mical Ollivierre with 28 seconds to play. After a see-saw first quarter which saw the lead change hands five times, North Delta surged to a 28-22 lead midway through the second period, only to watch St. Thomas More go on a 12-4 run in the final five minutes of the half to take a 34-32 lead at the break. Down by seven four minutes into the second half, North Delta pulled themselves back into the game with a bucket by Cam Clark and a trey from Rob Dhillon to pull to within two points. After a Knights basket, Dhillon drained another three-point shot, a score sandwiched by baskets from Ollivierre and Matt Parno for a 50-47 Huskies lead. St. Thomas More again took a lead in the fourth quarter, scoring six straight points to take a two-point cushion into the final minute. Clark tied the game with 58 seconds to go, and the Huskies forced a turnover to set up the winning bucket by Ollivierre, who then collected a key defensive rebound with seven seconds left to clinch the win. …………………………………………………… The Vancouver College Fighting Irish whipped the Pitt Meadows Marauder Air Force 55-39 as Nathan Yu scored 16, Marc Trasolini 13, Matt Konar 10, Joe Cordonier 5, Charlie Campbell 6 and Restie Provido 4, while Ethan Wong, Seamus O’Brien, Braden Ralla, Daniel Gabrilo, Matt McTaggart, Tobi Sroka and Farris Tyab were scoreless. Tim Bismeyer led Pitt Meadows with 16. Zach Udot added 7, Bryan Davis 6, Dylan Gatner 6, Bryce Pelton 2 and Stuart Smith 2, while Dylan Living, Brandon Dalke, Jeff Colclough, Robert Jones, Sean Novtony, Shawn Hughes, Deven de Zwaan, Colin Plumb and Kurtis Milton were scoreless. The Fighting Irish led 29-16 at the half. Marauders coach Rich Goulet said Irish forward Marc Trasolini proved the difference. “The start is just what we didn’t want,” said Goulet of a 23-6 first-quarter deficit that was fuelled by the fact that the Marauders kept driving the ball straight into the shot-blocking wheelhouse of Trasolini. “We talked about not going in there and getting blocked. But even after we went away from that, even when he wasn’t even around, everybody still thought that he was. That perception colored our offence. But this tournament is about having your chance and we had our chance.” The Marauders attempted 29 more field goal attempts than the Irish (70-41) but sunk just 16 shots all game. In fact, Pitt outscored Vancouver College 33-32 after the opening 10 minutes. Trasolini said “that is what I try and do, get in their heads.” Irish head coach Jon Tagulao brought real color to Trasolini’s aura. “Pitt played it hard-nosed,” he said, “They have no fear just like their coach who is a great coach. But Traz is something that you have to play against to understand. You don’t always see him. He is deceiving because he kind of sits back there and all of a sudden, when you drive in the lane, he turns into this seven-foot beast, no make that 11-foot beast with his big wingspan. He is a smart player and he picks and chooses his spots.” Although Trasolini only had 5 blocks, he got in Marauder heads, Tagulao added. “When you get a dominant big man, it is more the mentality of him. He is in the back of your mind, he is stalking you. And it’s scary. But you have to practice against it to know what it is really like.” …………………………………………………… The Surrey White Rock Christian Academy Warriors upset the Richmond R.C. Palmer Griffins 63-62 as Spencer McLean scored 29, Nick DeKoster 13, Jordan Mara 10, Iain Con 7, Tonner Jackson 2 and Eli Mara 2, while Riley Barker, Pascal Doppenberg, Brian Fougner, Chase Lee, Daniel Rendon, Alex Morrison, Will Con, Mark Shewfelt, Carl Johnston and Colin Weeres were scoreless. Akeem Pierre led the Griffins with 18. Amritpal Bath added 14, Edward Fan 14, Danver Erlano 4, Aran Hare 4, Derek Lok 3 and Brandon Tait 2, while Kelvin Wong, Spencer Sangara, Matthew Madewan, David Mao, David Hui, Aman Bindra and Martin Karadzic were scoreless. WRCA led 34-28 at the half. Richmond’s Akeem Pierre missed a layup at the buzzer that would have pulled out the win for the Griffins. McLean dominated despite limping up an and down the court all game with an ankle injury. “I know the scouting report on Spencer is to get real physical with him, so I think he has taken a lot of bumps and bruises this season,” said coach Scott Allen. “It’s a learning curve that all of our guys are going through right now. And it is a huge one to have to learn to fight through. They are starting to earn that self-respect of who they are.” Clinging to a one-point lead, Palmer’s Akeem Pierre drove to the hoop and tried to lay the ball into the basket. As the final buzzer sounded, the ball rolled, bounced, and hopped before ultimately clanging off the rim and out to give Warriors the win. The Warriors led the entire game until Griffins took the lead with 42.7 seconds left, but a McLean layup 12 seconds later gave WRCA back their lead. “Why he misses that shot, or why he doesn’t, who knows. It all comes down to a game of millimetres – that ball could’ve fallen either way,” Warriors coach Scott Allen said. “We got a little lucky – we dodged one. These guys are good at giving us heart attacks.” Despite playing much of the contest with an ankle injury – he was limping considerably in the fourth quarter – McLean was named player-of-the-game. He also sunk a key three-pointer in the final minutes to give WRCA a five-point lead. “He gave us enough of a cushion to get us through that minute,” Allen said. Despite a photo finish, McLean wasn’t as worried as his coach. “We’ve been in clutch games at the Agrodome before, so I knew we could pull it off,” he said. “I’m so confident in our guys, and I know we can win anything.” Guard Nick DeKoster finished with 13 points and eight boards, while Grade 12 captain Jordan Mara had 10 points, eight rebounds and eight assists. Both players – along with McLean – played the full 40 minutes. Pierre was despondent. “I felt like I let everyone down. They count on me to hit that last shot and I was there and I had everything perfect,” said Pierre. “I set it up, (the team) ran their stuff, boom miss and it’s like wow everything is gone.” Griffins coach Paul Eberhardt said “we ran that play at the end and it was perfectly executed. The guys did a great job and Akeem gets the hoop for a lay-up and it just rims out and I know he’s really crushed by that. The game was not our style of game. White Rock Christian did a very good job of slowing it down and making it more physical and the game was in the 60s and that’s just not the way we play. … The guys were clearly nervous. It’s the first time our school’s ever been here so it was new to all of them and I could tell at the beginning they were a little tight. I figured after a few minutes they’d kind of work it out but we were in a bit of a fog for a lot of the first quarter. I actually thought we were quite fortunate to only be down six points at half time. We really could have been down 15. We played very poorly in the first half.” …………………………………………………… The Victoria Oak Bay Bays stunned the Clearbrook MEI Eagles 88-74 as Eliot Rushton scored 23, Marc Howatson 18, Reid Fraser 11, Dylan Jones 11, Manny Pasquale 11, Kevin Pribilsky 8, Patrick Mascall 4 and Scott Metcalf 2, while Reid Turner, Scott Grant and Spencer Ewart were scoreless. Jon Loewen paced the Eagles with 26. Karl Toews added 16, Tyler Anderson 11, Ben Ball 8, Cam Richard 5, Dave Heeres 4, Alec Dumerton 3 and Steve Marshall 1, while Geoff Krahn, Jove Loewen, John Wiebe, Trevor Nickel and Josh Mulder were scoreless. The Eagles struggled in the absence of injured post Dave Heeres, out with an ankle injury suffered in practice. Coach Arnie Dick surmised that “maybe we peaked too early. There were some other factors that played into it. There was the injury to Dave. He sprained his ankle on Friday with one more practice to go. We just didn’t seem to have a jump coming into this one.” The Bays won the battles in the paint, as 6-6 Marc Howatson was dominant. “In the second half they just had more jump and then they went to a big lineup and beat us on the offensive glass. It was a good coaching move by (Oak Bay head coach) Ted (Anderson).” Ben Ball, who toiled with Oak Bay’s Mark Howatson on the provincial volleyball team the previous three summers, said Howatson was “awesome.” Ball added that Heeres injury saddled the Eagles. “He’s the heart and soul of this team. It’s not all about points with him – it’s his presence on the floor.” With Heeres on the bench, MEI got off to a dreadful start offensively as the Bays built a slim 29-27 lead at halftime. But in the third quarter, Oak Bay threw a trio of tall forwards at the smallish Eagles, and the Bays took over the boards at both ends of the floor. Then Oak Bay’s Eliot Rushton heated up from three-point range in the fourth to finish off the Eagles. “We didn’t have our team mojo,” Eagles coach Arnie Dick said. “It seemed like we were playing desperate.” …………………………………………………… The Abbotsford Yale Lions dumped the West Vancouver Highlanders 70-49 as Josh Kufske scored 19, Jasper Moedt 14, Caleb Klassen 12, Brad Kufske 10, Joel Friesen 8 and Nathan Kendall 7, while M. Klassen, Kyle Konrad, Mike Verhuel, Dave Thompson, Kees Vanleeuwen, Ian Perry, Tristan Grunthaler and Jordan Brown were scoreless. Alex Lea led the Highlanders with 18. Patrick Clark added 15, Jason Ronsley 6, Stephen Galbraith 6, Jamie Rees 2 and Micha Theil 2, while Sam Berkun, Darien Martin, Geoff Noble, Ben Bahrami, Saman Mansouri, Vladimir Smiljkovic and Alex de Clerk were scoreless. The score was knotted at 27 at the half. The young Yale Lions, a team filled with eight Grade 11s and a Grade 10, played with considerable poise. In the locker room before the game, Yale head coach Al Friesen pulled out the official tournament program and read the ages of his team aloud to his players. “I read through it and it was like 16, 16, 16,” said Friesen. “Then we went to West Vancouver and it was 18, 18, 18, 18. I said to them ‘We’re going to be 16-year-olds playing 18-year-olds. If it was a 16-year-old hockey team playing an 18-year-old hockey team, you would go ‘That 18-year-old team is going to hurt that 16-year-old team.’ This is not hockey, I told them that we had a chance but we had to play like 18-year-olds.” When the game was tied at 37, Friesen huddled up his players and delivered a message. “I said that this here was the game. I said ‘you decide who is going to step up and play. Who is going to be mature and who is going to be nervous? Are you going to play to win?’ Then we just took the game over. We (the coaches) just looked at each other and went ‘Holy smokes’.” Yale built a slim 41-39 lead through three quarters, and simply blew out West Van in the fourth. The Lions outscored the Grade 12-laden Highlanders 29-10 in the final frame. Josh Kufske led the charge with 19 points and 11 rebounds, and punctuated the victory with a two-handed breakaway dunk in the late going. “Holy smokes, did they ever play,” Friesen marveled. “We just took the game over – it was unbelievable. We have just an amazing group of kids. They’re probably the nicest group of boys I’ve coached in almost 30 years.” …………………………………………………… The Abbotsford Rick Hansen Hurricanes clipped the Courtenay G.P. Vanier Towhees 77-59 as Amnan Gill scored 22, Kenny Carnes 21, Tony Sahota 13, Jason Gill 10, Josh Diamond 5, Hardeep Dhillon 2, Avi Dhillon 2 and Ricky Dhami 2, while Greg Bowcott, Kurjit Tatlay, Devon Buttar, Simrit Grewal, J.B. Khangura and Harvie Sahota were scoreless. Jay Valeri paced the Towhees with 21. Nick Adair added 17, Mike Greer 14, Simon Nessman 6 and Will Palmer 1, while Martin Adair, Pierce Larsen, Graham Peterson, Sean Sanger, Nick Maerkl, Cam Castle, Darren Ross, Darion Corke, Austin Grant and Nik Marler were scoreless. The Hurricanes led 41-18 at the half. The game was delayed after Vanier’s 6-8 Nick Adair broke a rim in the warm-ups while dunking. Vanier coach Larry Street said the delay “took a surge out of us.” Five players – Jason Gill, Kenny Carnes, Amman Gill, Tony Sahota and Josh Diamond – knocked down three-pointers in the first half as Hansen raced to a 41-18 lead at the break. The Hurricanes finished 10-for-25 from three-point range for the game, with Amman Gill and Carnes accounting for three triples apiece. Amman Gill said afterward that three-point shooting can be contagious. “Everybody gets pumped up when we start hitting them, and we get on a roll.” …………………………………………………… The top-seeded Nanaimo Dover Bay Dolphins dumped the Langley Walnut Grove Gators 75-64 as Greg Gillies scored 25, Pat McCarthy 16, Clint Germyn 12, Torrey Gillies 7, Sean Corcoran 7, Sheldon Brunt 6 and Gareth Saunders 2, while Damon Gilmour, Alex Mayser, Joel Salazar, Iain Little, Nash Khushrushai, Colton Clouthier and Kasey Hepner were scoreless. Kevin Jackel paced the Gators with 19. Dan Cooper added 15, Tyson Compton 12, Joel Wollenberg 10, Zak Syens 6 and Graham Gillies 2, while Mike Young, Shawn McDonald, Dylan Williamson, Alex Curl, Jordan Muxworthy, Karl Zeller and Brandon Forrest were scoreless. Dover Bay led 42-21 at the half.
In the
quarterfinals, the Vancouver College Fighting Irish edged the Abbotsford Yale
Lions 59-54 as Marc Trasolini scored 21, Matt Konar 11, Nathan Yu 10, Charlie
Campbell 10, Seamus O’Brien 4 and Restie Provido 3, while Ethan Wong, Joe
Cordonier, Braden Ralla, Daniel Gabrilo, Matt McTaggart, Tobi Sroka and Farris
Tyab were scoreless. Brad Kufske led Yale with 24. Joel Friesen added 12, Josh
Kufske 9, Caleb Klassen 5 and Jasper Moedt 4, while M. Klassen, Kyle Konrad,
Mike Verhuel, David Thompson, Nathan Kendall, Kees Vanleeuwen, Ian Perry,
Tristan Grunthaler and Jordan Brown were scoreless. Yale led 25-23 at the half.
“We could have won,” Yale coach Al Friesen said. “And we almost made it. … Awwww,
shucks. You wonder, ‘What if.’” Neither team was able to build more than a
six-point lead. Yale took a 25-23 lead into halftime, and built a 34-28 margin
in the third quarter when Brad Kufske drained a trio of three-pointers in quick
succession. But Van College chipped away at the lead, and benefited greatly
from the fact that Lions posts Josh Kufske and Jasper Moedt spent much of the
evening in foul trouble. Moedt picked up his fourth foul with just under three
minutes left in the third quarter, and Josh Kufske was whistled for his fourth
on the very next play. With Kufske and Moedt on the bench, Yale had to play
long stretches with backups David Thompson and Tristan Gruenthaler as the last
line of defence in the paint against Vancouver College superstar centre Marc
Trasolini. The Lions hung tough, though. After Matt Konar drained a three-pointer
to give Van College a 51-48 lead with less than two minutes remaining, Josh
Kufske hit a fadeaway jumper in the post while being fouled, and hit the free
throw to knot the score. At that point, though, Trasolini took over in the
paint – he drew a pair of fouls and hit four in a row from the charity stripe
to boost his team to the win. “We played scared a little bit, but not too bad,”
Friesen said. “In one sense, the players feel good because they know they could
have won it, but it’s still sad that we lost.”
The Vancouver Kitsilano Blue Demons defeated the Victoria Oak Bay Bays 83-74 as
Clayton Crellin scored 33 and grabbed 26 boards. Yassine Ghomari added 17 points,
Brad Quevillon 8, Chris Mulangu 7, Jake Moodie 4, Bill Lee 2 and Jeff Lightburn
2, while Henry Allan, Jungho Hyun, Keir Miron, Lolomon Ahmed, Conrad Clark,
Henry Williams, James Scoffield, Tommy Nixon and Alex Michalowski were
scoreless. Eliot Rushton led the Bays with 20. Dylan Jones added 14, Manny
Pasquale 13, Kevin Pribilsky 12, Marc Howatson 10, Reid Fraser 4 and Scott
Metcalf 1, while Reid Turner, Scott Grant, Patrick Mascall and Spencer Ewart
were scoreless. The Blue Demons led 41-39 at the half.
The Surrey White Rock Christian Academy Warriors stunned the Abbotsford Rick Hansen Hurricanes 59-48 as Spencer McLean scored 19, Iain Con 11, Jordan Mara 10, Nick DeKoster 9, Eli Mara 6, Tonner Jackson 3 and Will Con 1, while Riley Barker, Pascal Doppenberg, Brian Fougner, Chase Lee, Daniel Rendon, Alex Morrison, Mark Shewfelt, Carl Johnston and Colin Weeres were scoreless. Ricky Dhami paced the Hurricanes with 13. Amnan Gill added 10, Jason Gill 10, Tony Sahota 9, Kenny Carnes 5 and Josh Diamond 1, while Greg Bowcott, Kurjit Tatlay, Devon Buttar, Simrit Grewal, Hardeep Dhillon, J.B. Khangura, Avi Dhillon and Harvie Sahota were scoreless. The Hurricanes led 24-19 at the half. The Warriors fell behind by 12 to Hurricanes at one point, and finished the game shooting just 33 per cent from the field, and just 20 per cent from beyond the arc – hitting just seven of 34 attempts. “We just had abysmal shooting in the first half. It was horrible. Then in the second, we hit a couple and everything changed,” said Warriors coach Scott Allen. Indeed, everything seemed to be in order for the Hurricanes in the early going – they jumped out to a 17-7 lead after one quarter, and Tony Sahota’s layup at the 5:40 mark of the third quarter gave his team a 33-23 lead. Then the wheels fell off. The Warriors ripped off a 28-6 run. “Our shots just weren’t falling. We were getting the looks, and they just weren’t going in,” said Hansen coach Sukhpaul Dhaliwal, whose squad shot 4-25 from the arc. “If eight or nine of those go in, we win the game. I don’t think we’ve ever had such a poor percentage from three.”
In the last quarterfinal, the top seeded Nanaimo Dover Bay Dolphins clipped the North Delta Huskies 66-51 as Greg Gillies scored 19, Pat McCarthy 15, Sean Corcoran 14, Clint Germyn 11 and Torrey Gillies 7, while Damon Gilmour, Alex Mayser, Joel Salazar, Sheldon Brunt, Iain Little, Gareth Saunders, Nash Khushrushai, Colton Clouthier and Kasey Hepner were scoreless. Rob Dhillon paced the Huskies with 14. Cam Clark added 13, Mical Ollivierre 10, Satbir Jawandha 10, Gary Bains 2 and Brennan Pichor 2, while Matt Parno, Malcolm Lenahan, Pavan Sodhan, Baldeep Rangi, Jaskirat Sodhan, Sean Bassi and Govind Atwal were scoreless. The Dolphins led 30-28 at the half.
In the semis, the top seeded Nanaimo Dover Bay Dolphins edged the Vancouver College Fighting Irish 72-67. Pat McCarthy led the Fighting Irish with 29 on 11-12 from the floor, 7-7 from the line, 7 boards and 2 steals. Greg Gillies added 25 on 7-11 from the floor, 2-2 from the arc, 5-8 from the line, 8 boards and 3 assists. Clint Germyn notched 11 on 4-7 from the floor and 3-3 from the line. Torrey Gillies scored 5 on 1-1 from the arc and 9 assists. Sean Corcoran added 2, while Damon Gilmour, Alex Mayser, Joel Salazar, Sheldon Brunt, Iain Little, Gareth Saunders, Nash Khushrushai, Colton Clouthier and Kasey Hepner were scoreless. The Dolphins shot 23-38 (.610) from the floor, 3-8 (.380) from the arc and 17-21 (.810) from the line, while garnering 32 boards, including 4 on the offensive glass, 15 fouls, 18 assists, 17 turnovers, 1 block and 6 steals. Nathan Yu led the Fighting Irish with 21 on 6-14 from the floor, 2-8 from the arc, 3-6 from the line, 6 boards and 2 steals. Marc Trasolini added 14 on 6-11 from the floor, 2-4 from the line, 12 boards and 2 steals. Matt Konar notched 11 on 3-6 from the arc. Charlie Campbell added 6 on 2-11 from the floor. Seamus O’Brien added 4, Restie Provido 4, Tobi Sroka 4 and Joe Cordonier 3, while Ethan Wong, Braden Ralla, Daniel Gabrilo, Matt McTaggart and Farris Tyab were scoreless. The Fighting Irish hit 22-50 (.440) from the floor, 5-15 from the arc and 8-15 (.530) from the line, while garnering 37 boards, including 17 on the offensive glass, 19 fouls, 8 assists, 14 turnovers, 2 blocks and 9 steals. The Fighting Irish led 44-28 at the half. The Dolphins rallied from a 19-point first half deficit to pull out the win. Gillies his consecutive treys down the stretch to ignite the Dolphins, despite being closely guarded by Nathan Yu. After Gilles’ second trifecta made it 68-63 for the Dolphins, Yu drew contact from opposition guard Sean Corcoran outside the arc, but he managed to hit just one of three free throw attempts. After Joe Cordonier hit another to make it 68-65 with 45.5 seconds remaining, Irish Grade 11 forward Marc Trasolini grabbed an offensive rebound in traffic and sunk a layup as he was falling to his knees. Trasolini was fouled on the play but couldn’t complete the three-point play at the charity stripe and the Irish could get no closer than 68-67 with 42.4 seconds remaining. Corcoran and Germyn each hit a pair of free throws over the final 14 seconds to put the game away. “Greg played very smart on the defensive end,” said Dover Bay assistant Chris Franklin. “He hawked on the big fella Traz a little bit and he was able to find some steals. Offensively I think that was a test of wills. (Greg Gillies) hit a couple of buckets and got confident and it went from there.” When Vancouver College’s quicksilver guard Restie Provido put the ball on the floor and drove hard for a layup with 3:44 left in the first half, the Irish had built a seemingly insurmountable lead of 19 points at 37-18. But fittingly, McCarthy came back eight seconds later with a layup off a dish from Gillies that was the start of a 54-30 game-closing run. Gillies hit back-to-back treys to put the Dolphins ahead 68-63 with 3:17 remaining. Gillies hit McCarthy with a full-court touchdown pass for a layup, scored off a feed from Clint Germyn on a sharp back-door cut and relentlessly drove the ball right at the heart of the Irish defence. McCarthy hit 6-6 in the second half. The duo was on fire to start the third quarter as the Dolphins came out of the dressing room fully focused to go on an 8-0 run to cut the deficit to 44-36. “We talked about it at half time,” said Gillies’ brother, guard Torrey Gillies. “We just had to stay positive and keep coming out hard. We just wanted to work hard. We worked hard all year and we didn’t want to lose it coming out not intense. Everybody worked hard and I love my team.” It was in the midst of yet another 8-0 run in which the Dolphins took the lead for good. McCarthy’s ability to keep running the floor hard paid off when Torrey Gillies fed him on the break and he was fouled by Irish guard Matt Konar. McCarthy completed the three-point play from the free throw line and Dover Bay led 60-58 with 5:46 remaining. “That is McCarthy,” said Dover Bay assistant coach Chris Franklin of his 6-foot-6 senior. “He runs. He runs like a deer and he has done that for three years here as a senior. He is a very under-rated player. He runs and he seals and he works hard.”
In the other semi, the Vancouver Kitsilano Blues Demons whipped the White Rock Christian Academy Warriors 72-58. Yassine Ghomari paced the Blue Demons with 20 on 6-14 from the floor, 3-8 from the arc, 5-6 from the line, 7 boards and 4 steals. Clayton Crellin added 18 on 6-13 from the floor, 6-7 from the line and 11 boards. Brad Quevillon notched 10 on 4-8 from the floor, 2-2 from the line and 5 boards. Jake Moodie notched 9 on 3-9 from the floor, 2-4 from the arc and 2-2 from the line. Jeff Lightburn scored 7 on 1-2 from the floor, 5-8 from the line and 5 boards. Bill Lee added 5, Keir Miron 2 and Conrad Clark 1, while Henry Allan, Jungho Hyun, Lolomon Ahmed, Chris Mulangu, Henry Williams, James Scoffield, Tommy Nixon and Alex Michalowski were scoreless. The Blue Demons shot 21-54 (.389) from the floor, 5-22 (.227) from the arc and 25-32 (.781) from the line, while garnering 50 boards, including 17 on the offensive glass, 23 fouls, 21 turnovers, 3 blocks and 10 steals. Jordan Mara paced the Warriors with 19 on 6-10 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 6-12 from the line, 5 boards and 4 steals. Spencer McLean added 15 on 6-14 from the floor, 1-6 from the arc, 2-4 from the line and 10 boards. Iain Con scored 13 on 4-10 from the floor, 5-7 from the line and 5 boards. Tonner Jackson scored 4, Nick DeKoster 3, Brian Fougner 2 and Will Con 2, while Riley Barker, Eli Mara, Pascal Doppenberg, Chase Lee, Daniel Rendon, Alex Morrison, Mark Shewfelt, Carl Johnston and Colin Weeres were scoreless. White Rock shot 19-59 (.322) from the floor, 4-23 (.174) from the arc and 16-27 (.593) from the line, while garnering 33 boards, including 14 on the offensive glass, 26 fouls, 8 assists, 17 turnovers, 2 blocks and 9 steals. Kitsilano led 34-24 at the half. The Blue Demons appeared suspect after star forward Clayton Crellin picked up his fifth foul with 5:34 to play. But everyone else stepped up down the stretch, coach Randy Coutts. “Clayton took a couple of silly fouls, which he normally doesn’t do, but the adrenaline was flowing. We had guys stepping up. Yassine Ghomari, Brad Quevillon and Billy Lee. Conrad Clark came in and just played some outstanding defence on their big guys. Jeff Lightburn contributed today in the post. It’s been a team effort all year and we have been riding nine or 10 guys all year and it paid off for us.” The Warriors slowed the pace to a crawl and kept within 34-24 at the half. But Kits got the tempo more to their likely in the second half. “We wanted that tempo,” said Coutts. “Every time on a miss or a make we were pushing the ball. We knew they were only going to run five or six guys and they were going to be tired by the end of the game. And so, we came out and hit some shots.” The Blue Demons also got solid post defence and good box-outs against Warriors’ stars Jordan Mara and Spencer McLean from Lightburn and Clark. Coutts said his troops were also determined to get back to the final after losing in the 2006 title match. “These guys have been on a mission. It was very hard to take what happened last year and it left a very sour taste in our mouths.”
In the bronze medal match, the Vancouver College Fighting Irish annihilated the Surrey White Rock Christian Academy Warriors 80-49. Marc Trasolini notched 21 on 6-10 from the floor, 9-14 from the line, 10 boards, 4 assists and 5 blocks. Nathan Yu scored 21 on 5-9 from the floor, 2-3 from the arc, 5-9 from the line and 5 steals. Matt Konar notched 17 on 4-7 from the floor, 2-4 from the arc, 3-3 from the line and 7 boards. Charlie Campbell scored 10 on 4-7 from the floor and 2-2 from the line. Restie Provido scored 6 on 1-1 from the arc, 1-1 from the floor and 1-1 from the line. Tobi Sroka added 2, Ethan Wong 2 and Joe Cordonier 1, while, Seamus O’Brien, Braeden Ralla, Daniel Gabrilo, Matt McTaggart and Farris Tyab were scoreless. The Fighting Irish hi 21-36 (.580) from the floor, 5-8 (.620) from the arc and 23-35 (.660) from the line, while garnering 45 boards, including 12 on the offensive glass, 19 fouls, 8 assists, 17 turnovers, 6 blocks and 8 steals. Iain Con paced the Warriors with 14 on 3-6 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc, 5-9 from the line, 5 boards and 2 steals. Jordan Mara scored 9 on 3-8 from the floor, 3-4 from the line and 6 boards. Spencer McLean scored 8 on 2-7 from the arc and 8 boards. Tonner Jackson added 4, Eli Mara 3, Chase Lee 3, Pascal Doppenberg 2, Nick DeKoster 2, Alex Morrison 2 and Will Con 2, while Riley Barker, Brian Fougner, Daniel Rendon, Mark Shewfelt, Karl Johnston, Colin Weeres and Daniel Gogolin were scoreless. The Warriors hit 10-31 (.320) from the floor, 5-30 (.170) from the arc and 14-23 (.610) from the line, while garnering 38 boards, including 20 on the offensive glass, 31 fouls, 9 assists, 18 turnovers and 6 steals. The Fighting Irish led 41-33 at the half.
In the final, the Nanaimo Dover Bay Dolphins defeated the top-seeded Vancouver Kitsilano Blue Demons 58-57. Senior post Pat McCarthy hit two free throws with 20.7 seconds to play and Kitsilano’s gutsy sixth man Bill Lee failed to get a tough reverse layup to fall with three seconds remaining. “I have been with most of these guys since Grade 6 or 7,” said Dover Bay’s emotional leader Greg Gillies. “I don’t even know how to explain this. We came back from 19 down to win against Van College. This was our turn and we knew it. Our confidence didn’t break at any time.” Not even when Kits’ first team all-star Clayton Crellin twice stepped up to the free throw line to hit shots that put the Blue Demons ahead by a point. Dover Bay never led by more than seven points, and when it took a 51-44 lead midway through the fourth quarter, the Blue Demons promptly mounted a 10-0 run that seemed to have given them all the momentum they would need. “We didn’t execute the way we wanted to,” said Kitsilano head coach Randy Coutts. “But it’s all about character building and building to this point each year.” Coach Mark Simpson said Gillies proved the difference, seeing through double-teams to find open teammates. “Without Greg, the other kids don’t get their shots. He did a great job of keeping his poise and not forcing things. He contributed in other ways.” Dolphin forward Pat McCarthy forced a missed layup with seconds to play batting the ball down the court to force the last seconds to expire. “It was a matter of execution down the stretch,” said 6-6 Pat McCarthy. “Kits is a great shooting team, and we knew we would have to be at our best to beat them.” Kitsilano coach Randy Coutts said “I thought we defended him [McCarthy] very well for the most part. Don’t get me wrong — he’s a great player — but our problem was committing too many fouls on him. That basically decided the game. He hit those foul shots down the stretch and that was the difference.” Both teams came out firing on all cylinders. Yassine Ghomari and Jake Moodie both hit early three pointers for Kitsilano as did Sean Corcoran of Dover Bay, whereas Greg Gillies began the game 3-3 from the field. The first couple minutes of the game were all offence and absolutely no defence for either team. It appeared as though we were in for a shootout at the Agrodome. Once the adrenaline cooled off a bit, all the offence we initially saw transformed into some staggering defence. Kitsilano came out with a box and one style defence to contain Dover’s low post play which had ultimately brought them to this championship game. This style of defence forced Dover to become a perimeter team, which they simply are not. After the first quarter, Dover was only 6-15 from the field. Fortunately for Dover, their defensive play in the quarter was a great deal more efficient than their lacklustre offence. Dover really keyed in on Clayton Crellin from Kitsilano, seeing as Crellin completely dominated the Dolphins earlier this season. Dover felt like if they could contain Crellin, they would contain the Kitsilano offence and they were right. After the first, Kitsilano was a meager 5-14 from the field. The same type of scrappy defensive play carried on into the second quarter. Dover Bay continued to have trouble getting the ball inside to the likes of Greg Gillies and Pat McCarthy, while the Blue Demons were lacking offensive structure and were getting not enough good looks. Early in the second, Sean Corcoran really stepped up for Dover hitting some huge shots, as did Jake Moodie for Kitsilano. Moodie had a career game, finishing off with a game-high 25 points. Moodie was also 5-6 from three-point land. If tonight’s game was any indication, look out for this kid next season. As the second quarter moved along, Dover started to get the looks that they wanted. Just as yesterday’s game in the semis, Pat McCarthy had a great first half. At the half, Dover Bay was ahead by seven points. Kitsilano was a totally different team in the second half. Coach Randy Coutts started to run some new sets to get the ball to the hoop and it paid off. The Blue Demons actually started attacking off the dribble and Dover Bay couldn’t defend. Jake Moodie continued his dominance and Clayton Crellin’s dry spell continued for Kits. Kitsilano was in control for virtually the whole quarter until Dover Bay’s last possession of the period. Torrie Gillies, who had been silent offensively for the entire game, hit an enormous three pointer with less than a minute left in the quarter to grab the momentum and throw it back in Dover’s favor going into the fourth and final quarter. Torrie had an open shot due to a beautiful back screen set by Pat McCarthy. Kitsilano had narrowed the deficit to four going into the fourth. Greg Gillies of Dover Bay recorded his fourth foul very early in the fourth quarter which caused him to be absent for a better part of the period. Coincidentally or not, this is when Clayton Crellin of Kitsilano started to come up big. Crellin hit two huge three pointers and he also began to attack the rim with fortitude. The fourth quarter of this game was one of Crellin’s very best of the tournament. Attributable to Crellin’s encouraging play, Kitsilano was on a 10-0 run and took a 3-point lead midway through the fourth. The momentum was back in their favor but not for long. Unlikely hero Sean Corcoran of Dover Bay yet again silenced the Kitsilano faithful with a three-point play to tie the game. With one minute left, down by one, Dover Bay’s Pat McCarthy went to the charity stripe for a one and one scenario. McCarthy missed the enormous free throw and Kitsilano went the other way with the prospect of taking a 3-point lead. Bill Lee from Kits went up for a lay-up but was blocked by point-guard Torrie Gillies. Dover Bay moved the ball up the court quickly to Pat McCarthy as he too went up for a lay-up, but was fouled. McCarthy had the opportunity to redeem his earlier miss and he did exactly that, nailing both clutch free-throws. The Dover Bay Dolphins proceeded to win their first ever provincial championship school history. Pat McCarthy paced Dover Bay with 21 on 8-12 from the floor, 5-7 from the line, 8 boards and 2 blocks. Sean Corcoran added 17 on 2-8 from the floor, 4-9 from the arc, 1-1 from the line and 3 boards. Greg Gillies scored 7 on 1-6 from the floor, 1-1 from the arc, 2-5 from the line, 9 boards and 2 steals. Torrey Gillies added 5 on 1-3 from the arc and 5 boards. Clint Germyn notched 5 on 2-7 from the floor and 5 boards. Sheldon Brunt scored 3, while Damon Gilmour, Alex Mayser, Joel Salazar, Iain Little, Gareth Saunders, Nash Khushrushai, Colton Clouthier and Kasey Hepner were scoreless. The Dolphins hit 15-36 (.420) from the floor, 6-19 (.320) from the arc and 10-16 (.620) from the floor, while garnering 40 boards, including 15 on the offensive glass, 14 fouls, 11 assists, 16 turnovers, 3 blocks and 4 steals. Jake Moodie paced with 25 on 5-13 from the floor, 5-6 from the arc, 7 boards and 3 steals. Clayton Crellin added 17 on 1-9 from the floor, 3-5 from the arc, 6-8 from the line and 14 boards. Yassine Ghomari scored 11 on 3-7 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 3 boards and 4 assists. Brad Quevillon scored 4 on 2-5 from the floor and 4 boards. Jeff Lightburn was scoreless while nabbing 8 boards. Henry Allan, Jungho, Keir Miron, Lolomon Ahmed, Bill Lee, Chris Mulangu, Conrad Clark, Henry Williams, James Scoffield, Tommy Nixon and Alex Michalowski were scoreless. The Blue Demons hit 11-40 (.280) from the floor, 9-18 from the arc and 8-14 (.570) from the line, while garnering 44 boards, including 19 on the offensive glass, 17 fouls, 9 assists, 14 turnovers, 1 block and 10 steals.
The bronze medalist Vancouver College Fighting Irish: Nathan Yu; Marc Trasolini; Matt Konar; Joe Cordonier; Charlie Campbell; Restie Provido; Ethan Wong; Seamus O’Brien; Braden Ralla; Daniel Gabrilo; Matt McTaggart; Tobi Sroka; Farris Tyab; coach Jon Tagulao
The silver medalist Vancouver Kitsilano Blue Demons: Clayton Crellin; Yassine Ghomari; Jeff Lightburn; Tommy Nixon; Jake Moodie; Bill Lee; Chris Mulangu; Henry Allan; Jungho Hyun; Keir Miron; Lolomon Ahmed; Brad Quevillon; Conrad Clark; Henry Williams; James Scoffield; Alex Michalowski; coach Randy Coutts
The gold medalist Nanaimo Dover Bay Dolphins: Greg Gillies; Pat McCarthy; Clint Germyn; Torrey Gillies; Sean Corcoran; Sheldon Brunt; Gareth Saunders; Damon Gilmour; Alex Mayser; Joel Salazar; Iain Little; Nash Khushrushai; Colton Clouthier; Kasey Hepner; coach Mark Simpson; assistant Chris Franklin