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The Kelowna Owls did what they are built to do, defeating the No. 10-ranked Belmont Bulldogs of Victoria 58-49 in a defensive battle on opening day of the B.C. School Sports Quad-A Basketball Championship in Langley.
As a bonus, they watched as the Heritage Woods Kodiaks of Port Moody, ranked No.15 going into the 16-team event, pulled off one of the biggest first-round upset in the history of the 74-year tournament by knocking off No. 2-seed Kitsilano Blue Demons 81-62.
So, the No. 7-ranked Owls, instead of being considered underdogs in quarter-final play today, will be the favourites — on paper — against Heritage.
Being one of the height-challenged Quad-A teams in the province, the Owls have been concentrating on defence and their outside shooting all season in order to stay with the big boys. And on Wednesday against Belmont, it was the defence that was the key to success.
Offensively, it was the usual suspects leading the way, with Parker Johnstone, the most valuable player at the Okanagan Valley championship, scoring 23 points and pulling in seven rebounds while Hunter Simson, a Valley all-star, adding 17 points and five boards.
A surprise contribution came from 6’4” Grade 11 Ethan Braam, who came off the bench in the second half to score nine points and grab four rebounds.
The Owls, who outscored Belmont 14-10 and 15-11 in the final two quarters, will be looking for more of the same against Heritage Woods beginning at 4:45 p.m. on Thursday.
“All we had to do was win with our defence,” Johnstone told Howard Tsumura of Varsity Letters after Wednesday’s game. “For us, it’s a mentality and Parmar has been working with us all year about just locking it in.”
In other opening games on the Owls’ side of the championship draw, the No. 6 Oak Bay Bays defeated No. 11 M.J. Mouat of Abbotsford 66-49 and they’ll meet No. 3 Terry Fox Ravens of Coquitlam in another quarter-final matchup on Thursday.
The winner will meet the survivor of the Kelowna/Heritage Woods encounter in semifinal play.
George Elliot advances to quarter-final with win over Seycove
The George Elliot Coyotes received an explosive offensive performance from Nic Lafontaine and an exceptional defensive effort from Matt Darley on the way to an 88-78 win over the Seycove Seyhawks in their first game at the B.C. Senior AA Boys Basketball Championship in Langley.
Lafontaine, the player of the game, scored 32 points, 18 of which were from beyond the three-point arc, while Roan McCarthy added 11 to go with his 12 rebounds.Tristen Hearn and Bergren Van Lent added 10 points apiece for the Okanagan Valley champions while Ben Hitchens distributed the ball well and finished with 10 assists.
Defensively, it was Darley leading the way for the No. 7-ranked Coyotes, limiting the effectiveness of the Seyhawks’ U16 B.C. provincial team member, Dylon Matthews.
The Coyotes held a narrow 44-41 lead at the half and pulled away by outscoring the North Vancouver representatives 24-19 and 20-19 in the final two quarters. It was the third straight win by Elliot over Seycove this season.
The win earned the Coyotes a berth in today’s quarter-final action beginning at 8:15 pm. at the Langley Events Centre. They’ll meet No. 2-ranked D.P. Todd Trojans of Prince George, who downed No. 15 Pacific Academy of Surrey 82-68 on Wednesday.
KCS Knights breeze to easy victory in single-A action
Eleven of their 13 players scored at least four points as the Kelowna Christian School Knights waltzed to a 100-28 win over the Gold River Cougars on opening day of the B.C. School Sports Senior A Boys Basketball Championship in Langley.
Seeded No. 2 in the 16-team provincial tournament, the Knights were led by Jake Sabbagh’s 14 points and eight rebounds while Connor Haasdyk added 13 points on the way to the team’s century mark.
Parker Martens, the most valuable player in the KCS provincial Grade 9 title win last week, scored 11 points for the senior team, the same total as Grade 9 teammate Parker Fleming.
The dominating win advances the Knight to quarter-final play today (8:15 p.m.) when they meet Cedars Christian School Eagles of Prince George. Ranked No. 7 in pre-tournament seeding, the Eagles took down Pemberton 62-44 in their first game on Wednesday.
A win by KCS on Thursday would earn them a semifinal date against the winner of the quarter-final encounter between No. 6 Similkameen of Keremeos or No. 3 Highroad Academy of Chilliwack.
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