In the Southwest regional semis, the Rothesay Red Hawks crushed the Fredericton Leo Hayes Lions 85-61.
In the other semi, the Fredericton Black Kats nipped the Quispamsis Kennebecasis Valley Crusaders 79-76 in overtime. The Crusaders included Cole Defazio.
In the Southwest regional final, Rothesay High spanked the Fredericton Black Kats 64-47.
There is no evidence that a Northeast regional was held. In the four-team northeast loop, Moncton finished 1st in an imbalanced schedule, while Bernice MacNaughton finished 2nd.
In the provincial semis, the Moncton Purple Knights (1st, Northeast) clipped the Fredericton Black Kats (2nd, Southwest) 79-66. The Black Kats included Ewan Robertson.
In the other semi, the Moncton Bernice MacNaughton Highlanders (2nd, Northeast) dispatched the Rothesay Red Hawks (1st, Southwest) 87-75. The Red Hawks (coach Peter Hickey, coach Paul Hickey, coach Matt Zed) included Colin Downey, Nick Macdougall, Graham Buckley, Josh Campbell, Ross Daigle, Charlie Greer, Sam Johnston, River Lanz, Ethan LeBlanc, Sampson Loiselle, Daniel MacDonald, Colin Tilley and Jonathon Whittet.
In the final, the Moncton Purple Knights (1st, Northeast) edged the Moncton Bernice MacNaughton Highlanders (2nd, Northeast) 74-73 to capture the school’s first provincial title. The Purple Knights nearly squandered a 12-point fourth quarter lead as they went 0-6 from the line and watched Jai Punna draw the Highlanders with one. But the Highlanders were unable to complete the rally as they missed a half-court shot at the buzzer. The Purple Knights led 18-16, 35-30 and 53-47 at the quarters. Northeast player of the year and player of the game Felly Njilayi paced the Purple Knights with 32 on 13-32 from the floor, 3-9 from the arc, 3-8 from the line, 10 boards, 4 assists, 2 blocks and 3 steals. Chris Nicholson added 17 on 7-16 from the floor, 3-6 from the line, 12 boards and 2 steals. Kevin Lee notched 12 on 4-6 from the floor and 4-5 from the line. Xander Anovert scored 10 on 4-11 from the floor, 0-4 from the arc, 2-4 from the line, 2 boards, 2 assists and 4 steals. Taylor McGovern added 2 on 1-4 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 0-2 from the line and 3 boards. Gentry Leet scored 1 on 0-1 from the floor, 1-2 from the line and 2 boards, while Andrew Smith and Jeremy Tipper were scoreless. The Purple Knights hit 29-72 (.403) from the floor, 7-22 (.318) from the arc and 9-22 (.409) from the line, while garnering 44 boards, including 12 on the offensive glass, 12 fouls, 7 assists, 14 turnovers, 2 blocks and 12 steals. Jai Punna led the Highlanders with 18 on 6-10 from the floor, 6-9 from the arc and 3 boards. Highlanders player of the game Jack Orozco added 17 on 7-16 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 3 boards, 5 assists and 3 steals. Caleb Valerde notched 17 on 8-18 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc, 6 boards, 3 assists and 2 steals. Ethan Briand scored 10 on 3-16 from the floor, 0-3 from the arc, 4-4 from the line and 8 boards. Bradley Steele added 7 on 3-7 from the floor, 1-2 from the line and 3 boards. Cooper Carson scored 2 on 1-3 from the floor, 5 boards, 2 assists and 3 blocks. Ryan Stultz added 2 on 1-4 from the floor, while Tyler Wilson and Copper Lennox were scoreless. The Highlanders hit 29-74 (.392) from the floor, 8-20 (.400) from the arc and 7-8 (.875) from the line, while garnering 48 boards, including 12 on the offensive glass, 21 fouls, 11 assists, 20 turnovers, 4 blocks and 6 steals.
The silver medalist Moncton Bernice MacNaughton Highlanders: Jack Orozco; Caleb Valerde; Jai Punna; Cooper Carson; Ethan Briand; Tyler Wilson; Cooper Lennox; Ryan Stultz; Bradley Steele; Ethan Greffard; Joshua Haller; Thanh Gia Ho Pham; Matthew Stewart; Zander Tower; Ayden Votour; coach Orlando Palmer
The gold medalist Moncton Purple Knights: Andrew Smith; Xander Anovert; Felly Njilayi; Kevin Lee; Chris Nicholson; Taylor McGovern; Gentry Leet; Jeremy Tipper; Evan Araux; Samuel Olatingi; coach Neil Smith; assistant Norval McConnell; assistant Nathaniel Fells
Thanks to: Rothesay athletic director Kara Johnston for provision of the Redhawks roster; Moncton athletic director Marc Poirier for provision of the Purple Knights roster; Bernice MacNaughton athletic director Eric Matheson for provision of the Highlanders roster