After three Okanagan teams advanced to the tournament finals at the 2019 BC Boys High School Basketball Championships, only the 麻豆精选 Christian Knights were able to secure top honours in their division.
Great runs from the 麻豆精选 Secondary School Owls and Lake Country鈥檚 George Elliot Coyotes ended just short as both teams fell in the finals of their respective divisions to grab the silver medal at the tournament.
For the first place Knights, it was a redemption win after finishing fifth at last years championships.
鈥淭his year, we had a mission to not let that happen again,鈥� said head coach Daniel Benson.
鈥淲e fought all year to get here and everyone put in extra hours.鈥�
The Knights cruised to a 79-42 win over the Credo Christian Kodiaks, grabbing their sixth title in the last 12 years.
麻豆精选鈥檚 Indy Hallet grabbed the tournament鈥檚 Championship Player of the Game with 17 points, while Colin Christophe won the single A division tournament鈥檚 MVP after a 23 point performance and an overall solid tournament outing.
Hallet was named to the tournament鈥檚 First Team All-Stars while teammate Josh Flood was named to the Second Team All-Stars.
READ MORE: Owls, Coyotes, Knights all advance to provincial finals
In the AAAA finals, it was a battle between the seven seed Owls and the nine seed Lord Tweedsmuir Panthers, and though the Owls lead the finals by as much as 18 points, the Panthers showed no quit in a comeback 91-86 victory over 麻豆精选.
The Panthers comeback was fueled by a 25-0 run in the second half.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a tough pill to swallow because if we played some defence, we would have won that game, but that鈥檚 sport,鈥� said Owls coach Harry Parmar. 鈥淲e hit a wall, the boys wanted to do things, but the brains just couldn鈥檛 get it done.鈥�
麻豆精选 drilled some late shots to get to back within three points of the Panthers, but Lord Tweedsmuir鈥檚 Arjun Samra, who won the tournament鈥檚 MVP honours, iced the game from the free throw line.
Owls鈥� Parker Johnstone continued his impressive point streak with 28 points in the finals, while Hunter Simson and Malcolm Greggor had 25 and 21 points respectively.
鈥淲e have to look at the positives, no one expected us to be there, and the kids have to be proud of what they did,鈥� said Parmar.
鈥淟ast year we didn鈥檛 even make the provincials, so now we know how hard we need to work to get back to the championship game, and how hard we have to work to get that championship victory.鈥�
麻豆精选鈥檚 squad added some post-tournament honours with winning the Most Inspirational Team Award, Johnstone and Simson being named to the tournament鈥檚 First Team All-Stars, and Simson grabbing the Best Defensive Player Award.
In case you missed the 25-0 run that brought @LordTweedsmuir back from an 18pt 3rd Q deficit to defeat @kelowna_owls for their first ever @BC4ABoysBBall championship last night at @LangleyEvents centre, here are the highlights https://t.co/PTQxsDcxvF
鈥� TFSE TV (@TFSETV) March 10, 2019
The George Elliot Coyotes were bested by the top seed Charles Hays Rainmakers of Prince Rupert at the AA championships.
The Coyotes, the number two seed, had a stellar tournament run but ran into a well-coached Rainmakers in the finals and lost 78-51.
The Coyotes three-point shooting strategy that had worked well for them in the tournament, did not have the same effect against the Rainmakers.
鈥淭hey took the line away from us,鈥� said coach Dave Lafontaine. 鈥淏ut you have to hit the shots.鈥�
Ben Hitchens led the Coyotes with 19 points, while Nic Lafontaine finished an impressive tournament outing with 10 points and was named to the tournament鈥檚 First Team All-Stars, while Hitchens was named to the Second Team All-Stars.
Your @BC2ABoysBBall provincial champions are the Charles Hays Rainmakers!! The Rainmakers controlled the lead the entire game and lifted the trophy with a score of 78-51 over the George Elliot Coyotes. Your MVP was @LiamMcchesney 馃弳馃敟 .
鈥� BC Sports Hub (@theBCSportsHub) March 10, 2019
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鉁傦笍: @chris21evans_ pic.twitter.com/aX99pJVTVD
With the high school basketball season concluded, the Okanagan-based boys鈥� squads hauled in one gold medal and two silver medals.
