Tuesday’s game at against Pacific Academy was more than just your average basketball contest for the Southridge Storm.
Win, and they stay in the senior boys AA playoff picture; lose, and they tumble out of a playoff spot, at least for the time being.
In the end, the Storm stayed alive in the quest for the post-season, beating the Breakers 86-77, thanks in large part to a 33-point effort from Jonathan Yu.
“Tonight was, without a doubt, the most important game of the season,” Storm head coach Steve Anderson said in an email.
Southridge controlled the play for the majority of the game Tuesday, and led by as many as 18 in the fourth quarter, but Pacific Academy slowly chipped away at the lead. They may well have caught the Storm if not for some clutch free-throw shooting from the victors, Anderson said.
In addition to Yu’s 33-point effort, Southridge got 13 points, 16 rebounds and five blocked shots from forward Jacob Andreou, and 11 points from Royce Holmes. Rounding out the scoring was Rider Laskin (eight points) and Ben Severide and Shahbaj Dhillion (seven each).
The win gives the Storm, ranked third in the province, a Fraser Valley record of 5-1, and a 14-8 mark overall.
Last weekend, Southridge finished fourth at Victoria’s Countdown to Playoffs tournament.
The Storm won their first two games of the tournament, 92-51 over Cedar Secondary and 75-70 over Brentwood College, the latter victory called “a game for the ages” by Anderson.
Southridge couldn’t make it three wins in a row, however, losing by 11 to to G.W. Graham in semifinals.
In the semis, the Storm were forced to play with Yu, who sprained his ankle in quarter-finals.