The opening day of the 79th annual 2025 B.C. School Sports Provincial Basketball Championships saw 64 teams from across the province start their quest for a banner.
The Okanagan, with six schools competing, had four punch their tickets to the quarterfinals.
Here's how they all fared:
AAAA
The Noah Watters show has made its way to Langley.
The Grade 11 guard went nuclear on Wednesday night, dropping 42 points to help his eighth-ranked Mount Boucherie Bears to a 95-85 victory over the ninth-seeded Heritage Woods Kodiaks from Port Moody.
Big man Bennett Messer chipped in with 22 points, 17 rebounds and four blocks, as the Bears pulled away in the second half, outscoring the Kodiaks 58-43.
The win, the first for Mount Boucherie at a provincial championship since 1984, sets up a massive quarterfinal bout with the top-ranked Spectrum Thunder out of Victoria on Thursday. Tip time is 8:45 p.m
AAA
The 12th-seeded Vernon Panthers fought valiantly but were upended by a hot Wellington Wildcats squad, 63-47. After being outscored 29-19 at the half, the Panthers fought back, but a game-ending 19-2 run sealed the victory for the Nanaimo-based school.
Domenic Zaino scored 18 for the Panthers, who will play the Edward Milne Wolverines out of Sooke at noon on Thursday on the consolation side.
AA
The Summerland Rockets have started their provincial championship quest with a bang, dominating their opening game, 114-56 over the Fernie Falcons. The Rockets looked like the number two ranked team in AA, coming out the gate with 38 points in the opening quarter and never looking back.
Brothers Mateo and Dezi Ducheck paced Summerland, with 38 and 41 points, respectively. The older brother, Dezi, who was recently named to the All-Canadian Games watchlist, was named player of the game for his electric scoring performance, which included three threes and a 16-point third quarter.
With the win, the Rockets- still undefeated on the year- now face Vancouver's Notre Dame Jugglers, who knocked off Brentwood College 71-61. Tip time against the seventh-ranked Jugglers is 5:15 p.m.
A
The Aberdeen Hall Gryphons out of 麻豆精选 reached the century mark, dispatching the Houston Christian Wildcats 101-79.
Player of the game was Gryphons guard Ciro Bertolutti, who poured in a tournament high 52 points. The eighth-ranked Gryphons will need more of Bertolutti's scoring in their next game on Thursday, as they face the top-ranked St. John's Eagles. Tip time is 7 p.m.
麻豆精选's Immaculata Mustangs rebounded from a slow start to defeat Nanaimo Christian 66-52. After going down 10-2 to start the game, the sixth-ranked Mustangs finished the half on a 37-20 run. Leading the way for Immaculata was Grade 10 guard Mateo Rizzo, who dropped 19 points.
The Mustangs next battle is against the third-ranked Unity Christian Flames at 3:30 p.m. on Thursday in the quarterfinals.
Finally, the Osoyoos Rattlers dropped a 67-62 decision to the Sparwood Spartans. Leading the way for the Rattlers was Chris Bojanowski, who scored a game-high 29 points.
They face the St. Ann's Academy Crusaders on the consolation side at 10:15 a.m.
You can watch all the action online, pay-per-view, at tfsetv.ca.
