For just the second time in school history, White Rock Christian Academy’s junior boys hoops team is headed to provincials, and with a Fraser Valley banner tucked in their back pocket, to boot.
The junior Warriors earned a spot at the 16-team B.C. tournament with a 74-62 win Friday night over the Lord Tweedsmuir Panthers, and then captured the Fraser Valley title one night later after grinding out a 54-51 win over the W.J. Mouat Hawks at Seaquam Secondary in Delta, where the Valley championship rounds were held.
WRCA point guard Tyus Allen led the Warriors with 27 points in Friday’s win, while Peter Spangehl – named tournament MVP – had 22 points in Saturday’s final.
B.C. Championships kick off Thursday at St. Michael’s University School in Victoria.
The Fraser Valley banner was also a first for the WRCA junior program, according to assistant coach Dale Shury.
“We’ve had lots of senior (team) banners, but this is a first-ever Fraser Valley for the juniors, so it’s kind of a big one,” he said.
Whereas Friday’s game was a high-scoring affair, Shury described Saturday’s title tilt as “a real defensive struggle.”
White Rock led for most of the game, but after a fourth-quarter letdown, had to claw back into the lead with a late 6-0 run.
The Warriors trailed by three with two minutes to go, but Vartan Tanelian sunk a shot to put White Rock back in front.