By Nic Flint (Special for Varsity Letters)
LANGLEY — The quarter-final match-up between the eighth-seeded Collingwood Cavaliers and the top seeded Oak Bay Bays was a high-energy, physical game from the very beginning that the Bays would go on to win 55-43.
Both teams’ defences started out very well, playing physical and not allowing easy, open shots for the first quarter and a half.
Peter Huang and Bayan Dehgani led the way for Collingwood, each with seven opening-quarter points.
As the first half went along, both teams switched to an aggressive 2-3 zone in the half court, trying to disrupt the other teams’ offensive rhythm.
Oak Bay took a five-point lead into halftime on the back of their offensive rebounding, which led to crucial second chance points. Olin Lakos of Oak Bay had a monster first half with 20 points, finishing the game with 27.
Rebounding was again the theme for the second half, as Oak Bay maintained a six-point lead heading into the final quarter.
Collingwood hung in as long as they could, behind Huang and Harry Bell’s combined 27 points (Huang with 15 and Bell with 12).
The Cavaliers did a really good job putting pressure on Oak Bay’s guards, causing a few turnovers which led to scores.
However, as the fourth quarter rolled along, Oak Bay’s offensive rebounding dominance was just too much for the eighth-seeded team from West Vancouver.
Led by bigs Simon Wiwcharuk-Burr, Lucas Border, Lakos and Noah Beck, the Bays took advantage of the physicality by crashing the offensive glass and creating second-chance points for themselves.
It was the second-chance points which ultimately proved to be the difference in this game, and the reason why Oak Bay is Final Four-bound on Monday night.
The Bays will take on the fifth-seeded Terry Fox Ravens for a spot in the championship game on Tuesday.
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