In the quarterfinals, the 2nd-seeded Antigonish Dr. John Hugh Gillis Royals dusted the 7th-seeded Berwick Central Kings Rural Gators 98-74. “We knew going in that we had the height advantage,” co-coach Kyle Barker told the Halifax Chronicle-Herald. “Defensively, they play a very solid two-three zone, but our goal was to get the ball inside and go from there.” Rhyley Bowen led the Royals with 46, including six treys, Jarrett Rossong added 15, Scott Pitman 9 and Patrick Bowen 8. “Rhyley gave us exactly what we needed,” Barker said. “He used his height inside, along with his shooting ability from the outside. He was connecting on some deep threes, which kept them off-guard.” The Royals led 25-16 after one quarter and 47-26 at the half. “We play man-to-man and guys really stepped up and set the tone for the weekend,” Barker said. The Gators included Chet Winter, Connor Ross, Coleton Oicle, Alex Parnell, Cody Pick, Michael Parnell, Micah McDowell, Jesse Manning, Cole Lavid and Caleb Winter.
The 3rd-seeded Amherst Regional Vikings spanked the 6th-seeded Halifax J.L. Ilsley Judges 70-44. The Judges (coached by Chrystal McNeill, assisted by Renee Boudreau and Eric Simpson) included Joseph Fiander, Ethan Tanner, Alex Furlotte, Tony Priest, Anthony Anderson, Corey MacLeod, MacKenzie, Kirkland Conrad, Dawntex Simmons, Aucoin and David Fraser.
The top-seeded Sydney Academy Wildcats whipped the 8th-seeded Middle Sackville Millwood Knights 86-48 as Curtis Ryan scored 16, Dylan Gillis 13 and Jason Callaghan 13. The Knights (coached by Tyrell Williams, assisted by Jarrett Head, Brian Williams and Angela Dale) included Tim Auton, Alex Colley, Erik Goodick, Matt Goodick, Tomaz Fougre, Mike Hardie, Nick Knowlton, Dallas Marshall, Gabe Masrallah, Isiah States, D’Juan White, Donovan White and Keegan Woodworth.
In the last quarterfinal, the 5th-seeded Bridgewater Park View Education Centre Panthers dumped the 4th-seeded New Waterford Breton Education Centre Bears 91-74. Jacob MacNeil led the Bears with 21. The Bears (coached by Jean Guy Demeter, assisted by Greg Campbell and managed by Jared Bates) also included Gary MacDonald, Nolan Campbell, Nick Peckham, Blair MacIsaac, Logan Jewer, Devon Moseychuk, Dylan Messervey, Jordan Hennessy, Mitchell Rutledge, Jeff MacEachern, Morgan MacIsaac and Brandon Caudle.
In the semis, the 2nd-seeded Antigonish Dr. John Hugh Gillis Royals crushed the 3rd-seeded Amherst Regional Vikings 71-51 as Rhyley Bowen scored 27, Jack Pitman 17, Patrick Bowen 15 and Oliver Cunningham 6. “Jack had a great shooting game, hitting some timely threes, particularly in the third quarter,” coach Chuck Scott told the Halifax Chronicle Herald. “Also, Rhyley (Bowen) hit some big shots, including one from a few steps over half. That really seemed to deflate the Amherst players.” It was the Royals sixth win over the Vikings during the campaign. “Playing a team that often was a concern,” Scott said. “How many times can you beat a team in a season before they eventually break through? We played them in the Sydney Academy tournament, and they took us to overtime, and then in the Northumberland regionals, we came back from a six-point deficit with three minutes to go. We dug deep and pulled that one out. As the season went on, they were getting stronger and cutting our leads. … We shot the ball extremely well in the third and went on to record our biggest margin of victory against them all year.” The score was knotted at 25 at the half.
In the other semi, the top-seeded Sydney Academy Wildcats whipped the 5th-seeded Bridgewater Park View Education Centre Panthers 118-90 as Curtis Ryan scored 31, including 5 treys, and Liam Stapleton 26, including 6 treys.
In the bronze medal match, the 3rd-seeded Amherst Regional Vikings edged the 5th-seeded Park View Panthers 66-61. The Panthers (coached by Matt Sarty, assisted by Bobby Oickle and Will Barkhouse) included Colin Campbell, Dylan Meisner, Logan Frank, Wendell Larsen, Matt Organ, Ryan Forward, Joshua Bell, Shane Organ, Brendan Balcom, Brogan Skinner, Dakota Benoit and John Ernst.
In the final, the 2nd-seeded Antigonish Dr. John Hugh Gillis Royals dispatched the top-seeded Sydney Academy Wildcats 87-68. Rhyley Bowen led the Royals with 31, including 4 treys. Twin brother Patrick Bowen added 17. “Chuck (Scott) and I talked leading up to the game about what we would do defensively against them,” co-coach Kyle Barker told the Halifax Chronicle Herald. “In the semi-finals, they shot the lights out against Park View, so we decided to play man against them. We had several key assignments, including one to Kieran Scott, to close down their point guard Curtis Ryan. Kieran did a great job with that, and then we basically looked after their other players to get the win.” The score was knotted at 46 at the half. “We showed both our team, and Sydney Academy, that we could compete with them, and in the second half we just outplayed them. … Rhyley and Patrick really stepped up. Rhyley was dropping shots, and really what more can you say about him. The past two years he basically scored at will and has the ability to hit the big shots. He can take his opponent inside, or can deliver from the wing. He’s had a great high school career. That being said, you can’t take anything away from Patrick. He gets his points too, but he also intimidates players with his shot blocking ability and he rebounds the ball well. They both logged a lot of minutes the past few years, and were a huge part of our success. We coached them for a long time. I’ve never seen those two play the way they did in the final. They play at a high level, but brought their game to another level against Sydney Academy. I was so impressed with their play and their leadership.” Jarrett Rossong added 16 for the Royals, while Oliver Cunningham scored 11, Scott Pittman 6 and Jack Pittman 5. “While the Bowens were outstanding, you don’t win titles with just two players,” Barker said. “Oliver and Jarret, our heart-and-soul guys, hit big shots and they shine defensively as well. Pitman has improved his defense and can hit from the outside, while Kieran, although not a big guy, is capable of containing bigger players and runs the offense as well. … We also knew Sydney Academy was returning loaded with seven Grade 12s and would be a huge concern for us. We went into the game as underdogs, so to beat them by 18 was tremendous.” Tristan Minihan and Liam Stapleton each scored 13 to lead the Wildcats.
The bronze medalist Amherst Regional Vikings: Caleb Value; Blake Thompson; Sam LeBlanc; Chris McCarthy; Josh Harnish; Justin Milner; Keaton Mapplebeck; Jordan Dyck; Joel McCrossin; Alex Rushton; Nabil Mohamad; Aidan Devine; coach Thomas Skabar; coach Jason Morse; coach Marcus Kindervater
The silver medalist Sydney Academy Wildcats: Jason Callaghan; Ryan Callaghan; Johnny Doiron; Dylan Gillis-Dupe; Devon MacDougall; Logan MacNeil; Tristian Minihan; Curtis Ryan; John Frank Sillyboy; Liam Stapelton; Dre Toney; Ryan Toney; Gustav Weherenpfennig; coach Jonathan Penny; assistant Steve Fifield; assistant Kurtis MacLean; assistant Tyrone Levingstone
The gold medalist Antigonish Dr. John Hugh Gillis Royals: Kieran Scott; Rhyley Bowen; Patrick Bowen; Oliver Cunningham; Jarret Rossong; Jack Pitman; Shea Sullivan; Johannes Harrison-Steinhart; Sam Anthony; Peter Storseth; Sora Matsubara; Tyler Barker; Lennox MacGillivray; Bryden MacMaster; coach Kyle Barker; coach Chuck Scott