The final week of the B.C. high school basketball season is now underway with Day 1 of the 2023 B.C, boys basketball championships.
Please check back here throughout the day for continual live game report updates on this tier.
DOUBLE-A
TOP SIDE DRAW
STORY BY STEVE FROST (Special for Varsity Letters)
1 BRENTWOOD COLLEGE 97 NO. 16 ARCHBISHOP CARNEY 65
LANGLEY – Powerhouse No. 1 seed Brentwood College (Mill Bay) scored early and often, racing out to a 29-point halftime lead and never looked back, beating No. 16 seed Archbishop Carney (Port Coquitlam) 97-65 to open the B.C. senior boys Double-A championship at the Langley Events Centre south court on Wednesday.
Brentwood (21-5), which has wins over Quad-A schools St. Georges, Kelowna, Handsworth, Holy Cross, and W.J. Mouat this season, made short work of the Stars. They led 23-10 after the first quarter and pushed the lead to 52-23 at the half, largely through the scoring of senior guard Jayden Lust, who knocked down four threes and had 20 points by halftime.
“We knew we had to send a message immediately as the No. 1 seed,” said Lust. “We’ve been the No. 1 seed all season and we wanted to let ever team know we are playing every game as if it’s our last.”
Brentwood’s offence was nearly unstoppable. The Vancouver Island champion scored on the inside, knocked down open threes and was lethal on the fastbreak.
By the time Lust hit his fifth three-pointer at the buzzer to end the third quarter, Brentwood led 81-44. Lust left the game with six minutes left, finishing with 26 points. He doubled his season scoring average of 13 points per game.
“I don’t know what it was, I just had a smoothie for breakfast,” chuckled Lust, after being named player of the game. “I was just feeling it today. Once I saw the first shot go in, I just knew I was in that mode.”
Lust came off the bench last season when Brentwood lost to Lambrick Park (Victoria) in the semifinal, and ultimately finished third at the 2022 BC Double-A Championship.
“I’ve been in the Brentwood program since I was in grade 8 and I’ve always wanted to win a provincial championship so this really means a lot to me,” said Lust. “I’m going to work as hard as I can to get us there.”
“We have a lot of camaraderie on this team, and we all love each other,” continued Lust. “It’s like being part of a family. We just all count on each other and that’s the key to our success.”
Brentwood scored eight threes in the game and also got 20 points from grade 11 centre Taylor Edwards, 13 points from grade 10 guard Julian Bishop and 11 points from grade 12 guard Dylan Gage.
Archbishop Carney (15-9) was making its first provincial championship appearance since 2013 and they were clearly overmatched. The Fraser North champion went scoreless for a six minutes stretch to end the second quarter and to start the third, ending any hope of an epic comeback.
The Stars hit eight threes in the game and were led by grade 11 guard and co-captain Gabriel Hombrebueno with 12 points, including three three-pointers. Grade 11 guard Darnell Joseph and grade 10 forward Branden Evangelista scored 11 points each.
With the 32-point win, Brentwood will advance to the quarterfinal where they will face the winner of No. 8 Collingwood vs No. 9 Summerland in a quarterfinal match on Thursday at the Langley Events Centre south court.
STORY BY STEVE FROST (Special for Varsity Letters)
8 COLLINGWOOD 74 NO. 9 SUMMERLAND 85
LANGLEY – No. 9 seeded Summerland Rockets took care of business when it mattered most, breaking open a close game in the final five minutes to upset No. 8 Collingwood Cavaliers (West Vancouver) 85-74 at the B.C. senior boys Double-A championship on Wednesday at the Langley Events Centre south court.
It was the 12th straight win for the Thompson-Okanagan champion. Having started the season 11-9, Summerland is peaking at the right time and haven’t lost since January. The team is now 23-9 overall and it will face top seed Brentwood College in the quarterfinal.
“Coming from Okanagan Valley we don’t get much respect but we are really confident,” said Summerland grade 10 guard Dezi Duchek, who led all scorers with 25 points and was player of the game. “Nobody on the team was thinking we are an underdog, let’s just keep this game close. We came here to win. This is a business trip.”
Trailing 72-71 with 4:44 left in the game, the Rockets scored on three straight possessions to grab the lead, 77-72. Collingwood made it a one possession game when guard James Holm scored a three but Duchek answered right back with back-to-back baskets. A deep three early in the shot clock of a close game pushed the Rockets’ lead back out to eight, 82-74, with 1:55 left. It seemed to deflate the Cavaliers.
“I am in the gym every single morning shooting that shot alone, and I have shot it so many times, that in a game I have the confidence to make that shot and my teammates have the confidence in me to make that shot,” said Duchek. “It was the right shot to take.”
After trailing by six points, 46-40, at the half, the Rockets dominated the second half with a medley of big baskets, aggressive steals and solid rebounding. It was a collective effort to close out the game.
“At half time our coaches told us to shake out all the nerves, it was time to show our grit and show our hustle,” said Dechek. “We knew we could beat them.”
The Rockets out-scored the Cavaliers 45-28 over the second half, exploiting Collingwood’s 1-3-1 defence with accurate outside shooting.
“At halftime coach said they were going to run a lot of plays to get me open, so find my rhythm and keep shooting,” said Duchek. “We live and die around the three.”
The Rockets made 12 three-pointers in the game.
Summerland grade 10 guard Troy Isaacs also scored 25 points and hit five threes while forward Sam Plant had 15 points.
Forward Anderson Stewart led the way for Collingwood with 23 points while forward Avi Barha (14), guard James Holm (13) and guard Alex Yu (11) also reached double figures scoring.
Collingwood (16-12) qualified for the tournament as the third-place team from Vancouver Sea-to-Sky zone after beating West Point Grey 65-58 to reach the tournament.
QUADRANT B
STORY BY STEVE FROST (Special for Varsity Letters)
No. 5 Southridge Storm (Surrey) 69 vs No. 12 Westsyde Whundas (Kelowna) 76
LANGLEY – Defending BC Double-A Champion Westsyde Whundas (Kelowna) refuse to go quietly into the night.
The Thompson-Okanagan zone runner-up came into the 2023 Double-A championship at the Langley Events Centre south court on Wednesday as the No. 12 seed and delivered a classic upset, taking down No. 5 Southridge Storm (Surrey) 76-69.
The defending champion Whundas, with just three returning players from its title-winning team from a year ago, survived two second-half surges by the Storm to advance to the quarterfinal where they will face the winner of No. 4 St. Thomas Aquinas and No. 13 Charles Hays on Thursday.
Southridge trailed 41-28 at the half but scored 27 third quarter points, highlighted by an inbound buzzer beater to centre Owen Lister with five tenths of a second on the clock that cut the Westsyde lead to a single point, 56-55.
The Whundas had led for most of the third quarter but the Storm went on a 19-10 run over the final six minutes to put the defending champs on their heels.
“We were nervous when they made that comeback but we were able to tough it out,” said Westsyde grade 12 point guard Jeremy McInnis, who scored 13-points Wednesday, including two threes and eight points in the final quarter.
The defending champs opened the final period with a three by McInnis and went on a 14-7 run to take control of the game back, 70-62, with just over four minutes remaining. Southridge answered with a 7-1 run of its own, highlighted by a Gavin Bassi three to cut the lead to a single possession, 71-69, with 1:02 left.
“They were a great shooting team and we just locked down their shooters,” said McInnis. “Westsyde has always been a tough, defensive team and that’s our mindset, that’s the way we play.”
The Whundas gritty and relentless defence held the Storm to 14 fourth-quarter points and scoreless over the final minute of the game after holding the Storm to 12 points in the second quarter.
Grade 10 forward Kooper Groeneveld scored on a fastbreak lay-up to push the Westsyde lead back out to five with 54 seconds left. Southridge missed its next possession and grade 10 forward Cason Scott nailed a three with 13 seconds remaining to put the game away.
“Kooper brings great energy and he was huge in the fourth quarter grabbing boards, diving on loose balls. That was key. We needed that. It gave us a lot of energy,” added McInnis.
Westsyde grade 12 forward Caleb Gremaud scored a game-high 23-points while Scott finished with 13 points and Webber Wang and Groeneveld had 10-points each. Groeneveld scored six points in the fourth quarter when he made three trips to the free throw line.
Max Blandy scored 19 points and Bassi added 15 for Southridge.
“It was unreal to win the championship last year and we just want to repeat, two is better than one,” said McInnis. “We are hungry to win it back-to-back.”
“We are the defending champs. Just line ‘em up and we’ll knock them down.”
STORY BY AARON MARTIN (Special for Varsity Letters)
4 ST. THOMAS AQUINAS 69 NO. 13 CHARLES HAYS 46
LANGLEY – The No. 4 St. Thomas Aquinas Fighting Saints showed off their championship aspirations on Wednesday night, dominating from start to finish in a 69-46 win over the No. 13 Charles Hays Rainmakers.
Clearing the first hurdle in their quest to claim the B.C. senior boys Double-A championship, the Fighting Saints were again led by their superstar senior forward Declan Cutler. As he has been all season, the 6-foot-9 forward was a two-way menace on Wednesday, pouring in 24 points while using his considerable length – Cutler was the tallest player on the court by seven inches – to wreak havoc on the Rainmakers offensive gameplan.
No less impressive was the sharpshooting of senior guard Carson Park, as the sniper knocked down four triples en route to a game-high 25 points. Senior guard Jon Clifton led the way offensively for the Rainmakers, putting up 14 points.
Despite coming out of the first quarter with a 13-8 lead, including a stretch of 10 unanswered points from his squad, Fighting Saints head coach Jim Kelly was quick to credit the Rainmakers in challenging his side.
“I thought we were nervous,” said the coach. “In that first quarter, especially, I think it’s almost expected. But we settled in quickly and adjusted well. [Charles Hays] are a really-well coached team – they have great pedigree and have won it a couple of times. Really good matchup for us – they gave us a lot of trouble.”
It was the second quarter where Cutler really stole the show. The senior was unstoppable in the second stanza, as his 14 points alone managed to outpace Charles Hays’ nine points in the frame. Cutler was the engine as St. Thomas poured in 27 second-quarter points to go up 40-17 by half.
“He’s been everything for us,” gushed Kelly of Cutler, who was named Player of the Game for his efforts. “He carried us again tonight. He’s a great leader, a great kid, does it at both ends of the floor, and he’s unselfish. He always finds a way to get it done for us.”
The Fighting Saints’ lead never shrank below 21 points over the final 20 minutes, taking their tournament opener by that 69-46 margin.
Park and Cutler will look to carry their hard-earned momentum into the quarterfinal showdown with the No 12-ranked Westsyde Whundas. Despite a seemingly lopsided matchup in terms of seeding, Kelly knows better than to underestimate the reigning champion from Westsyde.
“They’re just a different team,” said Kelly of the Whundas. “They’re big, fast, and strong. Incredibly smart and disciplined. They have a lot of seniors and juniors up, and they’re just a great team. It’s going to be a physical battle tomorrow, and it’s going to be a great game.”
BOTTOM HALF DRAW
QUADRANT C
STORY BY AARON MARTIN (Special for Varsity Letters)
NO. 10 LANGLEY CHRISTIAN 74 NO. 7 LAMBRICK PARK 78
LANGLEY – Ahead by two, 13.2 seconds left, and a shot to claim an upset in the BC senior boys Double-A championship?
No pressure.
All Willem Van Huizen did was step to the line and calmly drill two of the biggest shots of his life.
The No 10-ranked Langley Christian Lightning, who trailed by as many as 10 points on Wednesday night, parlayed a suffocating second-half stretch into a 78-74 comeback over the No 7-ranked Lambrick Park Lions. Van Huizen and backcourt running mate Carter VanderWaarde were electric as Langley Christian triumphed in front of their hometown fans at the Langley Events Centre.
“I didn’t like how we shot in the opening quarter,” assessed Lightning head coach Brodan Thiel. “But you have to trust your guys to play their way out sometimes, and they did. Carter hit a few massive shots down the stretch there, and we started figuring it out on defense and doing what we needed to.”
VanderWaarde was unconscious from beyond the arc, knocking down a game-high six threes, including three in the fourth quarter alone, as part of his game-high 23 points. Von Huizen finished with 21 points himself, with those free throws (he added one more a few seconds later) ending up as the Lightning’s margin of victory.
After a low-scoring opening quarter that saw the Lightning take just a 12-7 lead into the second, Blake Pye caught fire for the Lions. The grade nine guard hit three long balls as part of a 15-point quarter. Behind Pye’s run, the Lions roared to a 34-30 lead at halftime.
Lambick appeared to be pulling away to start the third, eventually opening up a 46-36 lead on the back of an 8-0 run in the middle of the frame.
Facing an uphill climb, the Lightning pulled a new formation out of their bag of tricks. Using the diamond press, Langley Christian forced multiple turnovers in the ensuing stretch, including a brilliant sequence from Van Huizen. In the span of a couple seconds, the guard stole an outlet pass, notched a nifty layup, and put down the ensuing and-one.
At one point in the third quarter, the Lightning managed to reel off a 12-2 run, and by the end of the frame, Lambrick Park held just a 50-46 advantage.
That margin crept to just one point, 54-53, with just under eight minutes left in the fourth quarter.
Just seconds later, VanderWaarde splashed an enormous triple to give the Lightning their first lead since the first quarter. Suddenly down 58-54, the Lions seemed to get back on track after a timeout, as Lamrbick guard Jacob Pager hit his own three on the next possession.
However, VanderWaarde was there again to answer, knocking down another long ball to keep the Lightning out in front. Going back-and forth in the game’s final minutes, the Lions clawed to within two, 76-74, with just seconds remaining, setting the stage for Van Huizen’s heroics.
Langley Christian will take on the winner of Wednesday’s late-night matchup between the No. 2-ranked King George Dragons and the No. 15-ranked Fernie Falcons. Despite not knowing their opponent yet, McKee won’t let uncertainty dictate his team’s attitude going forward.
“At this point, every game is tough,” said McKee. “Whether it’s King George or Fernie, all we can do is control what we can. Play the way we played today, hit some shots down the stretch, and do everything in our own power.”
STORY BY AARON MARTIN (Special for Varsity Letters)
2 KING GEORGE 77 NO. 15 FERNIE 51
LANGLEY, BC – It took about two minutes on Wednesday night for the No 2-ranked King George Dragons to demonstrate their status as a true title contender. On the opening night of the B.C. senior boys Double-A championship, the Dragons led from wire to wire in an 80-55 rout of the No 15-ranked Fernie Falcons.
Capping a day full of incredible individual efforts, Dragons forward Dionycius Bakare may have topped the list. The 6-foot-5 wing came storming out of the gate, opening the game with a personal 10-0 run as part of a 17-point first quarter.
Seemingly unstoppable from anywhere inside the key, Bakare’s game-high 34 points were the highest individual effort of any Double-A player on the tournament’s first day. Dragons guard Darko Karac also had a productive outing, posting 20 points as the Dragons’ secondary scoring option.
Despite never having trailed in the contest, King George head coach Darko Kulic said that the Dragons’ early surge, and a bit of luck, was the only reason the game wasn’t much closer.
“I’m proud of our guys,” said Kulic. “But man, I have to give props to Fernie. They’re an incredibly well-coached team. They played us really, really hard – kind of reminded me of those Knicks teams in the 90s. They didn’t play at all like a 15-seed.”
Kulic specifically pointed to Fernie’s senior forward Bronson Impey, who he called “a hell of a player”. The 6-foot-5 wing was called for a few fouls early, which Kulic admitted was a break for his squad. Impey still finished the game as Fernie’s leading scorer with 12 points.
Despite their best efforts, King George’s impressive length and strength proved too much for the Falcons to handle in the paint. The Dragons’ lead was as large as 26 points midway through the third quarter, and it never dipped below 22 points for the rest of the evening.
King George will turn their attention towards the No. 10-ranked Langley Christian Lightning next. After they upset the No 7-ranked Lambrick Park Lions 78-74 in their opening-round matchup, Kulic isn’t going to do the Lightning a favour by overlooking them.
“Just like tonight, it didn’t matter if we were two and they were 15,” said the Dragons’ coach. “I know that Langley Christian is well coached and will be ready to play. When you’re at the tournament, seeding doesn’t matter anymore. Nobody cares who was better during the season – all that matters is who is better on the court now.”
The Dragons and Lions are slated for a 1:45 pm showdown tomorrow afternoon on the LEC’s South Court.
QUADRANT D
STORY BY STEVE FROST (Special for Varsity Letters)
No. 6 John Barsby (Nanaimo) 78 No. 11 Khalsa Lions (Surrey) 51
LANGLEY – Guard Jonny Durkan scored 36-points to lead No. 6 John Barsby Bulldogs (Nanaimo) to a 78-51 win over No. 11 Khalsa Lions (Surrey) in the opening round of the B.C. senior boys Double-A championship at the Langley Events Centre south court on Wednesday.
John Barsby played up-tempo hoops and pushed the pace. The Bulldogs took control of the game in the first quarter and never looked back. The Bulldogs led 25-13 after the first quarter and 47-23 at the half before cruising to an easy win.
The Bulldogs are off to the quarterfinals against No. 3 Pacific Academy Breakers (Surrey) on Thursday.
Durkan, the 6-foot-1, grade 11 shooting guard, used his speed and quickness against the larger athletes from Khalsa to penetrate the key for easy layups. He scored 12 first-half points, had 21 at the half and never let up until the fourth quarter.
John Barsby scored just 13 points in the fourth quarter when they finally took their foot off the gas.
“They were big but we were faster, so we just pushed the pace, ran, and tried to get easy baskets in transition,” said Durkon. “When we run that’s when we are at our best.”
“For me, I was just driving into the lane and getting easy layups,” continued Durkan. “I was just getting buckets.”
It was a statement game for the Vancouver Island No. 2 seed who lost three times to top seed and tournament favorite Brentwood College during the year. That makes their 28-5 record a little deceiving.
“We should be a higher seed in this tournament,” said Durkan. “We have gone toe-to-toe with Brentwood three times this season and we are right there with them. We believe we are one of the two best teams in this tournament.”
While Durkan was nearly unstoppable Wednesday, two teammates also reached double figures scoring. Guards Kai Rednour Bruckman scored 15-points and AJ Barter added 11-points for the Bulldogs.
Khalsa Lions, the South Fraser zone third place team with a 21-12 overall record, were led by a pair of grade 11s. Forward Robin Benipal scored 22-points and guard Premjot Mand added 13.
Khalsa is in its sixth season with a senior boys basketball program. They are making their fourth B.C. provincial championship tournament appearance and their first in Double A.
STORY BY STEVE FROST (Special for Varsity Letters)
No. 3 Pacific Academy (Surrey) 78 vs No. 14 Nechako Valley 65
LANGLEY – Forward Simon Akindale and guard Nathan Chiang combined for 50-points to lead No. 3 Pacific Academy Breakers (Surrey) to a 78-65 win over No. 14 Nechako Valley Vikings (Vanderhoof) in the opening round of the B.C. senior boys Double-A championship at the Langley Events Centre south court on Wednesday.
The two grade 11s gave the Breakers a formidable inside-outside game. Mr. Inside, Akindale, scored 26-points all on two-point field goals while Mr. Outside, Chiang, connected on six three-pointers, including three in the fourth quarter, as part of a 24-point performance.
Nechako Valley senior guard Tanton Mueller did his best to carry the North Central Champions to victory with a 40-point performance but it wasn’t enough. Only four other Vikings scored in the game, with forward Terry Thompson netting 14.
Pacific Academy led 16-15 after the first quarter and 38-31 at the half. The game turned in the third period when Akindale and Chiang combined for 17-points and the Breakers out-scored the Vikings 25-18. They carried a 14-point lead into the final period which was evenly played.
The Breakers, the top seed from the South Fraser zone, also got 12 points from forward Jason Barbs-Ishola and 10-points from guard Jaden Mesfin.
Pacific Academy advances to a quarterfinal game Thursday against No. 6 John Barsby, 78-51 winners over No. 11 Khalsa Lions (Surrey).
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