Tamanawis set to face STMC for Junior Boys championship title

 

Photo above: Tamanawis’ Sunny Dhami is guarded by Heritage Woods’ Afu Bullock. photo courtesy of Vancouver Sports Pictures

Thirty-two teams are now down to two as just one day remains in the Junior Boys Basketball Provincial Invitational Tournament.

The St. Thomas More Collegiate Knights have defeated three straight higher-ranked opponents – eliminating the No. 6, No. 3 and No. 7 seeds – but now the 11^th-ranked squad from Burnaby faces the No. 1 seed Tamanawis Wildcats (Surrey) in the championship final at Langley Events Centre.

The game is set for Tuesday (February 28) at 7:00pm on the South Court at LEC, site of the four-day tournament featuring top teams from across the province.

The No. 7 Brookswood Bobcats face the No. 12 Heritage Woods Kodiaks in the bronze-medal game at 5:30pm.

St. Thomas More Collegiate Knights 66 Brookswood Bobcats 49

St. Thomas More Collegiate allowed 10 of the first 15 points but used a 20-0 run bridging the first and second quarters to build a double-digit lead they held for nearly the rest of the game, prevailing 66-49 over the Brookswood Bobcats to advance to the championship game.

STMC will play for the first title since winning the trophy back in 1988. This season will mark their best result at the tournament since placing sixth in 2015.

Shane Deza led the Knights with 22 points, which included four triples, while Zeru Abera was right behind with 17 points. The Bobcats – who scored 80 points the day before in their quarter-final contest – struggled to gain traction offensively.

Logan Stewart scored 32 points for Brookswood with Jayden Kenyon finished with a dozen points.

Tamanawis Wildcats 69 Heritage Woods Kodiaks 55

After a back-and-forth opening period, a second-half surge saw the Tamanawis Wildcats open the third quarter by scoring 14 of the first 17 points on their way to a 69-55 win for the No. 1 seed over the No. 12 Heritage Woods Kodiaks 69-55.

The Wildcats were up just two points after a quarter and five points at the half, before taking control in the second half. And it was the duo of Tray Belanger (34 points) and Sunny Dhami (20 points) doing the bulk of the damage offensively. The Kodiaks were led by 23 points from Joseph Thompson and 13 from Afu Bullock.

The Wildcats will attempt to win the first Junior boys title in program history, with the school’s best-ever previous finish being third place back in 2013. They are also attempting to become the first Surrey public school to ever win the title.

Photo left: St. Thomas More Collegiate’s Jacob Ortega is guarded by Brookswood’s Jo Lozowchuk. photo courtesy of Vancouver Sports Pictures

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Day 4 Schedule

The games get underway for the final day at 8:30am. For full schedule, scores, game sheets and more information, please visit http://www.bchighschoolbasketballchampionships.com/jrboys/

Single game and tournament passes are available for sale online. Games are also available to stream through pay-per-view at tfsetv.ca.

Day 3 Scores:

Correlieu 52 R.E. Mountain 41

Smithers 63 LV Rogers 38

Vancouver College 76 Rick Hansen 58

Handsworth 57 Dover Bay 44

Abbotsford Senior 41 Oak Bay 39

Lambrick Park 73 Burnaby Mountain 69

Westsyde 76 Yale 51

Rutland 63 Lord Byng 38

Burnaby South 77 Elgin Park 72

Semiahmoo 48 Centennial 43

Pacific Academy 46 Vernon 37

St Patrick 69 Sullivan Heights 57

Windsor 60 Magee 51

St. Michaels University School 44 Summerland 35

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