It was another dramatic Classic finish at Surrey’s RCMP-sponsored boys basketball tournament on Saturday afternoon (Jan. 21).
In the Junior division, Sullivan Heights won the all-Surrey championship with a basket by Nick Baxter with just two seconds left in the game, to break a tie with Tamanawis and win 51-49 at Enver Creek’s gym.
“It was crazy, very exciting,” said Sullivan coach Tyler Ram.
Tamanawis had a late chance to tie the game, but missed their heaved shot.
“We had to battle back, and were down nine at the half,” Ram noted. “We were down pretty much the whole game until the fourth quarter.”
For Sullivan, it was the school’s very first RCMP Classic tournament title.
Sullivan Heights with the basket to take the lead with 2.1 seconds left and win the Jr Classic. pic.twitter.com/kWeUl9zNt9
— Surrey RCMP Basketball Classic (@Surrey_classic) January 22, 2023
Sullivan Heights 51 - 49 Tamanawis to win the schools first RCMP Classic in school history! @BCJrBoysBB pic.twitter.com/nmAuK40dXH
— Tyler Ram (@CoachTRam) January 22, 2023
Baxter scored 22 points for Sullivan, 20 of those in the second half. “He had a big second half for us,” confirmed Ram, a volunteer coach at the school since graduating there in 2010.
So far, it’s been a solid year for his junior team.
“We won a Brookswood tournament in the first week of the season, came second in our tournament where we lost to Van College by six, and we’re undefeated in our league right now,” Ram noted. “We’re heading to Victoria for another tournament this weekend, before playoffs start.”
In the Senior bracket of the tournament a week earlier (Jan. 14), in the final three seconds of the game, Enver Creek Cougars guard Ajaypal Hayer hit a three-pointer to win the Classic championship over Fleetwood Park, 69-68.
tom.zillich@surreynowleader.com
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