Opening day of the 2024 BC School Sports Boys Basketball Provincial Championships saw just one upset among the four tiers as in the 3A tournament, it was a No. 11 seed eliminating the No. 6 seed from championship contention at the Langley Events Centre.
All four tournaments continue today (Thursday, March 7) for Day 2 of the four-day championships.
Tickets are available for purchase and every game of all four championships is also available to stream through pay-per-view at TFSETV.ca. Daily schedules, scores, and news can also be found at www.bchighschoolbasketballchampionships.com.
1A Tournament
The draw held to form on the opening day of the BC School Sports 1A Boys Basketball Provincial Championships at Langley Events Centre.
The inside-outside combo of Carson Barber and Makar Golotin proved unstoppable.
Barber scored 37 while Golotin added 27 to lead the Maple Ridge Christian Hornets to an 81-61 opening-round win over the Brookes Westshore Gryphons. Tristan Boxshall (25 points) and Logan Harald (20) were the leading scorers for the Gryphons.
The Similkameen Sparks needed overtime but prevailed over the Cedars Christian Eagles after scoring the first six points of the extra period to win 68-66. The trio of Darion Eustache-Peone (19 points), Balkaran Lidhar (17) and Ethan Potash (15) led the Sparks with Ryan Crosina scoring 24 for the Eagles.
A 38-point game from Viv Anderson-Francois led the St. John’s School Eagles to a decisive 113-67 win over the McBride Mustangs. Jeremiah Alspaugh finished with 23 for the Mustangs.
It was a pair of Grade 11s leading the way for the Eagles next opponent as Greg Puterill scored 21 while Loay Almahmiid added 20 as the Gidgalang Kuuyas Naay Breakers won 83-64 over the Duncan Christian Chargers. Grayson Dunn’s 18 points were tops for the Chargers.
A monster second-half from Arel Steen helped the defending champion King David Lions win 67-43 over the Osoyoos Rattlers. Steen had 21 of his 32 points in the third and fourth quarters. Preston Pederson and Jackson Lake each scored 14 for the Rattlers.
The St. Ann’s Academy Crusaders were 84-47 winners over the Campbell River Christian Cougars. Three players reached double figures for the Crusaders with Jacob Eichenberger popping in 20, Nash Pearce adding 18 and Aidan Sethen chipping in 17. Bobby Sunner’s 16 points led the Cougars.
The closest game of the day in the 1A draw saw the No. 8 Golden Eagles edge the No. 9 École Gabrielle-Roy Phenix 53-52. Jacob Tetrault led the Eagles with 21 points while Kevin Musongela had 16 for Gabrielle-Roy.
Golden next faces the top-seed Unity Christian Flames, who won 78-37 over the Fort St. James Falcons.
Thursday features the four quarter-final games, all of which are played in the fieldhouse at Langley Events Centre (LEC) with the following matchups: No. 2 Maple Ridge Christian vs. No. 7 Similkameen (3:30 p.m.), No. 3 St. John’s School vs. No. 6 Gidgalang Kuuyas Naay (5:15 p.m.), No. 4 St. Ann’s Academy facing No. 5 King David (7 p.m.) and No. 1 Unity Christian against No. 8 Golden (8:45 p.m.).
2A Tournament
All eight top seeds advanced to the quarter-final round at the BC School Sports 2A Boys Basketball Provincial Championships.
The eight now square off today (Thursday, March 7) for the quarter-final round, with the games being played on south court at LEC.
The matchups are No. 2 Pacific Academy vs. No. 7 Lambrick Park (3:30 p.m.), No. 3 Collingwood vs. No. 6 John Barsby (5:15 p.m.), No. 4 Brentwood College against No. 5 Westsyde (7 p.m.) and No. 1 King George against No. 8 Langley Christian (8:45 p.m.).
Five players reached double figures as the Pacific Academy Breakers defeated the Nechako Valley Vikings 63-44. Nathan Chiang’s 14 points led Pacific Academy in the victory with Nechako Valley’s Thomas Cross leading all scorers with 23.
The Breakers next opponent is the Lambrick Park Lions as the Victoria school used a 52-34 second-half advantage for the 90-70 win. Grade 10 guard Blake Pye dropped 40 points in the victory. Devon Jagpal, Jai Pawa and Owen Lister each scored 16 for Southridge.
Tied in the fourth quarter, the Collingwood Cavaliers scored 13 of the final 16 points to defeat the Khalsa School Lions 77-69. Alex Yu hit a pair of big 3-pointers in the fourth quarter, finishing with 11 points, while Amir Mojarradi led the team with 20. Robin Benipal led the Lions with 29.
A big first half helped the John Barsby Bulldogs hold off the Britannia Bruins 66-58. The Bulldogs were up 15 at the half with the Bruins unable to pull within seven points the rest of the way. Jonny Durkan’s 24 points led his team in victory while Osiris Jacob scored 21 for the Bruins.
Cason Scott scored 25 while Kiyo Brown added 19 in the Westsyde Whundas’ 79-52 win over the Archbishop Carney Stars. Matthew Ibrahim led the Stars with 16.
A four-point game at the half, Brentwood College locked things down, holding the Charles Hays Rainmakers to 23 points over the final 20 minutes for the 82-54 victory. Milan Pasquale’s 32 points led Brentwood College while Shayden Brown was tops for Charles Hays with 13.
Langley Christian Lightning were 71-60 winners over the Summerland Rockets. Carter Van der Waarde led the team with 25 and Casey Van Hemert added 23. For the Rockets, Dezi Duchek scored 24 while younger brother, Grade 9 guard, Matteo Duchek had 21.
Langley Christian’s quarter-final opponent is the top seed and defending champion King George Dragons after the Vancouver school posted a 78-28 victory over the Kootenay River Bulldogs. Darko Karac led the Dragons with 22 points and Ashton Vij and Kio Nickel each added 17. Brant Storm hit a pair of 3-pointers and finished with six points for the Bulldogs.
3A Tournament
Seven of the top eight seeds all advanced on the opening day of the BC School Sports 3A Boys Basketball Provincial Championships at LEC.
It sets up Day 2’s quarter-final round Thursday, with all of the games on centre court.
The first of the four games tipped off at 3:30 p.m. between No. 2 Dover Bay and No. 7 St. Thomas More Collegiate. It is followed by No. 3 Lord Byng against No. 11 Mark R. Isfeld (5:15 p.m.), No. 4 North Delta vs. No. 5 MEI (7 p.m.) and wraps up with No. 1 St. Patrick playing No. 8 A.R. MacNeill.
A 29-5 run bridging the first and second quarters helped the Dover Bay Dolphins to an 82-40 win over Gladstone Gladiators. Tarman Sandhu scored 20 points – all of which came in the middle two quarters. Venedick Madrid and Andrei Todio each scored seven points for Gladstone.
The Dolphins now face the St. Thomas More Collegiate Knights after the seventh-seed overcame a quick start from the Grandview Heights Grizzlies. The Surrey school was making its first-ever appearance at provincials and jumped out to the 15-5 lead before the Knights regained control, winning 75-63. Zeru Abera’s 29 points were tops for the Knights with Xavier Riddler-Brown scoring 17 for Grandview Heights.
The Lord Byng Grey Ghosts clamped down defensively, holding the College Heights Cougars to 31 points in a decisive 77-31 victory. Dylan King had 16 points, while Hart Kreter and Marco Radic chipped in 15 and 13 points, respectively. Tolu Bankole had 11 points for College Heights.
The only upset of the day saw the No. 11 Mark R. Isfeld Ice upset the No. 6 Maple Ridge Ramblers 76-68. It was a two-point game at the half before the Ice used a 25-14 third quarter to pull away from the Ramblers. Parker Guile had 23 while Bryson Gailloux-Milina added 19. Moe Mouwia and Dwayne Tabang scored 15 for Maple Ridge.
The MEI Eagles held the Windsor Wolves to 17 points in the second half, turning a close game into a 74-53 opening-round win. Isaac Skeels nailed six 3-pointers, finishing with 18 points, while Carter Giesbrecht had 19 for the Eagles. Oscar Rouillard led the Wolves with 15.
Twenty-eight points from Harvir Hothi and another 17 courtesy of Amarpreet Lalli led the North Delta Huskies to a 66-45 victory over the Wellington Wildcats. Grayson Ritzand had 18 for the Wildcats.
Chad Gammad scored 36 while Joaquin Bautista added 22 points as the A.R. MacNeill Ravens opened their tournament with a 70-58 win over the South Kamloops Titans. Charlie McKay (14 points) and Noah Henson (12) were the leading scorers for the Titans.
The Ravens’ next opponent is the two-time defending champion and top-seed St. Patrick Celtics. The Celtics crushed the Caledonia Kermodes 107-37 to close out day 1. Riley Santa Juana was tops for St. Patrick with 17 points and Ethan Santa Juana was right behind with 16. Brome Hansen had nine for Mount Baker.
4A Tournament
The top eight seeds all advanced on the opening day of the BC School Sports 4A Boys Basketball Provincial Championships at LEC.
The quarter-final round – which will all be played in the arena bowl – got underway at 3:30 p.m. with No. 2 Spectrum facing No. 7 Burnaby South. The rest of the matchups are No. 3 West Vancouver against No. 6 Semiahmoo (5:15 p.m.), No. 4 Tamanawis vs. No. 5 Vancouver College (7 p.m.), and No. 1 Oak Bay facing No. 8 Yale (8:45 p.m.).
The No. 2 Spectrum Thunder shook off a slow start – they trailed 18-16 after 10 minutes – to defeat the Prince George Polars 89-56. J Elijah Helman’s 29 points led the Thunder as he was one of five Spectrum players to reach double digits. Jules Tersago and Harsh Cheema had 13 points apiece for the Polars.
Next up for Spectrum is the seventh-seed Burnaby South Rebels, who were 86-73 winners over the Lord Tweedsmuir Panthers. Lordrikk Gutierrez finished with 30 points for Burnaby South with Keoni Sacco adding 21. Munroop Gill was tops for Tweedsmuir with 23 points.
A fourth-quarter rally helped the No. 3 West Vancouver Highlanders avoid the upset, as they held off the No. 14 R.E. Mountain Eagles 67-59. The Eagles led by eight points early in the fourth quarter but were outscored 19-3 the rest of the way. Calvin Kuzyk’s 19 points led West Vancouver while the trio of Jeremy Liston, Kaizer Nystrom and Soy Ryu each scored 16 points for the Eagles.
Down four at the half, the Semiahmoo Thunderbirds rallied for the 73-64 win over the Kelowna Owls. Jack Clayton and Jack Snead scored 28 and 21 points, respectively, for the Thunderbirds. Nash Semeniuk’s 29 points led the Owls.
The Vancouver College Fighting Irish overpowered the Sullivan Heights Stars in the second half of a 74-51 victory. The Irish were up five at the break before dominating the second half, using a balanced scoring attack. Aidan Lear led the team with 13 while Vince Velasquez had 11. Ethan Hugall’s 17 points led the Stars.
Vancouver College next faces the Tamanawis Wildcats after the Surrey school was a 95-52 winner over the Heritage Woods Kodiaks. Michael Adariwah-Nti had 15 of his team-leading 19 points in the first half. Joseph Thompson scored 24 for the Kodiaks.
The closest game of the day in the 4A tournament saw the No. 8 Yale Lions hold off the No. 9 St. George’s School Saints 100-97.
Grade 10 Taige Roberts led the Lions with 31 points while Nylan Roberts and Aaron Adams each scored 26. Dorian Glogovac had 37 points for the Saints.
Yale next matches up against the top-seed Oak Bay Bays after the Victoria school won 97-47 over the Mount Baker Wild. Owen Lewis and Diem Orser scored 14 points apiece to lead the Bays while Inman Vito and Ty Gauthier had 11 points each for the Wild.
• Stay tuned for more championship coverage
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LAST WEEKEND: Three Langley teams through to semis at girls high school basketball provincials