St. George's Jaxon Cohee helped carry the Saints past Handsworth and into a B.C. Final Four meeting Monday against arch-rival Vancouver College. (Varsity Letters photo by Howard Tsumura)
Feature High School Boys Basketball

Saints vs. Irish: Just like the big boys, this junior varsity rivalry reaches B.C. Final Four with a fever pitch

LANGLEY — It was appointment viewing this past Friday when a sold-out crowd braved the snow and filled the Richmond Olympic Oval to its limit.We’re talking, of course, about St. George’s vs. Vancouver College, and in grand, late-season basketball tradition, Friday’s senior varsity clash for the Lower Mainland AAAA title, won by the Irish, will […]

Vernon's Liam Reid (left) battles for a loose ball with Lord Tweedsmuir's Jackson Corneil during Elite 8 overtime action Sunday at the Langley Events Centre. (Varsity Letters photo by Howard Tsumura)
Feature High School Boys Basketball

B.C. JV’s hit Elite 8: Despite late free-throw debacle, Tweedy finds a way to top Vernon in epic overtime Battle of Panthers

Welcome to Day 2 of the B.C. junior boys basketball championships. We have plenty planned for you today, with stories to follow on the rest of the action later this evening. We will also have coverage of this evening’s Fraser Valley Quad A senior varsity championships.

Tupper's Mathew Dunkerley (left) and Benny Bradford make life tough for Burnaby Mountain's Joao Coimra during Sweet 16 round action at the B.C. junior boys basketball championships Saturday at the Langley Events Centre. (Varsity Letters photo by Howard Tsumura)
Feature High School Boys Basketball

B.C. junior boys basketball at its Elite 8: Irish, Hawks, Royals, Saints, Tigers,Bulldogs and a pair of Panthers

LANGLEY — We’re down to eight teams in the chase for the 2018 B.C. junior boys basketball title, and we’ve only finished the first of four days!Sunday’s championship round quarterfinal schedule:TOP HALF DRAW3:30 p.m. — Vancouver College vs. Seaquam (South Court), Handsworth vs. St. George’s (Centre Court)BOTTOM HALF DRAW2 p.m. — Sir Charles Tupper vs. […]

Terry Fox's talented Grade 9 guard Cam Slaymaker scored all of 13 points in the first half in helping lead the Ravens to a convincing win over Vancouver Island champion G.P. Vanier in the opening round of the 2018 B.C. junior boys invitational basketball championships at the Langley Events Centre. (Varsity Letters photo by Howard Tsumura)
Feature High School Boys Basketball

BC Junior Boys Championships 2018: Unpredictability the theme on Day 1, just ask PoCo’s Terry Fox Ravens

The B.C. junior boys invitational championships represent the largest and most unpredictable field of teams in any B.C. high school sports championships.

Vancouver College's Levi Dvorak, blocking out against South Kam's 6-10 Ripley Martin earlier this season, was a difference maker Friday as the Fighting Irish repeated as Lower Mainland AAA champs with a win over St. George's at the Richmond Oval. (Varsity Letters file photo by Howard Tsumura)
Feature High School Boys Basketball

Van College’s Levi Dvorak: Irish senior conducts a symphony in rebounding en route to 4A Mainland title win over Saints

RICHMOND — Levi Dvorak shares a surname with one of classical music’s giants of symphonic composition. And while Vancouver College’s Dvorak, at 6-foot-3, may not have been gifted as a giant to do the kind of work he does in the trenches for the Fighting Irish, there is no doubt that the senior lifted the art […]

Byrne Creek's Martin Djunga (right) and McMath's Bryce Mason met earlier this season at the Tsumura Basketball Invitational. (Varsity Letters photo by Howard Tsumura)
Feature High School Boys Basketball

Byrne baby, Byrne… Byrne Creek’s Bulldogs showcase true team depth to top McMath, repeat at Mainland AAA champs

RICHMOND — The game’s stretch drive took the stretch out Burnaby’s Byrne Creek Bulldogs, yet even without the enviable length and wing-span provided by two if its most dynamic players, B.C.’s No. 1-ranked senior boys Triple A basketball team found a way to repeat as Lower Mainland AAA champs Friday at the Richmond Olympic Oval.

Byrne Creek Bulldogs' senior Majok Deng brings a cerebral aura to the court for B.C.'s No. 1-ranked AAA boys basketball team. (Varsity Letters photo by Howard Tsumura)
Feature High School Boys Basketball

Just say ‘Rock, chalk, Majok’ and Byrne Creek’s Bulldog nation salutes its professorial senior Majok Deng

BURNABY — His first name is Majok, but you’re excused if you say Magic. “He is just a really engaging kid, an intellectual at heart,” begins head coach Bal Dhillon when asked to describe the essence of the 6-foot-8 senior guard/forward with Burnaby’s Triple A No. 1-ranked Byrne Creek Bulldogs.

Suraj Gahir (left) of the 3A North Delta Huskies, as well as both Valdi Alarie-Hill (middle) and Ewan MacKenzie of the 4A Oak Bay Bays both have their teams in the top four of their respective tiers this week. (Varsity Letters photo by Howard Tsumura)
Feature High School Boys Basketball

02.21.18 B.C. senior boys Big 10 basketball rankings: Tweedsmuir, Mouat the big 4A climbers

LANGLEY — With just one more set of rankings will follow after the completion of zone championships, it’s that time of year that even ranked teams face: Sudden elimination.

Tyus Batiste (front row, fifth from left) is already a coaching veteran at age 20, leading the defending B.C. champion Burnaby South Rebels back to the LEC for the 2018 JV provincials. (Photo courtesy Burnaby South athletics)
Feature High School Boys Basketball

Tyus Batiste: Burnaby South grad gives back, young coaching lifer has Rebels ready for another B.C. junior title run

BURNABY — Think about our province’s most durable high school basketball coaches and in many instances, their careers started when they themselves were still high schoolers, coaching the younger grades in the programs they were still an active part of as players.