After a ten year absence, the Bulkley Valley Christian School Sr. Boys Basketball team captured victory at the Mountain Invitational Basketball Tournament at SSS, Jan. 21.
Six teams from across the Northwest were on hand for the coveted championship that for some, was a preview of what they’ll be up against at zones next month.
SSS was the only single A team competing, however they were able to hold their own and take a third place victory.
“We did alright this weekend,” said Gryphons head coach Jerome Turner. “We were two and two, we came third place, so a pretty good showing for us. The teams that are in the final both beat us. Rightly so, we had good games against both of them but they had more effort and hustle in their play and that’s what proved to win.”
However, with zones on the horizon Gryphons captain Julius Dejong knows the team needs to toughen up on defence to come out on top at zones.
“Were going to have to step up and help our defence,” said DeJong. “Whenever we get beat there is just no pressure anymore.”
In their final game of the tournament the Gryphons were lagging behind Fraser Lake. Then, in the second half, they pulled ahead and didn’t look back. Putting space between them and Fraser Lake they quickly put up 10 points. Fraser Lake tried to capitalize on a couple foul shots but just couldn’t hold on and succumbed to the Gryphons, 75-53.
The BVCS Royals on the other hand had one of the tightest games this reporter has ever seen. Against what is arguably the most underrated team in the Northwest, Queen Charlotte Secondary.
Head Coach, Chris Steenhof said the Royals played some of their best basketball of the season this weekend and the results couldn’t be clearer.
“Our big guys hit some key shots and our guards hit a couple threes and it turned the momentum around,” Steenhof explained, referring to the championship game against QCS. “They got into a bit of foul trouble too, so some of their key players had to come off the court, that made a big difference.”
Despite foul troubles the Royals didn’t give up and went point for point with QCS for almost the entire game. Keeping the score tight, right to the last whistle. However, with less than six minutes left in regulation the Royals found their window and downed six points to take the lead in the dyeing seconds of the game.
“We were running the ball a lot,” said Royals captain Justin Steenhof. “They were tired, they played three games today. So it was just get the ball down the court as fast as we can and get it to our big guys with our depth on the post and just pound it down there.”
With the home crowd behind them, the Royals turned on the after-burners and secured a couple more shots as the clock ran-out to beat Queen Charlotte Secondary, 72-66 and end a ten year drought.
The Mountain Invitational is one of the staple basketball tournaments in the north and from here teams will begin preparations for zones at the end of February. As Steenhof points out QCS will be on their radar as BVCS builds their strategy for one of the teams to beat.
“We’re going to definitely be respectful of Queen Charlottes and their play.” Said Steenhof. “They are a very, very good team, I think one of the better teams in the province. We’re in the top ten and I think they should be as well. So we’ll see if there are two berths then we’ll be happy and if there is one we’re going to have to come up with a game plan to stop their outside shooting because they are a very skilled outside shooting team.”
Zones kick off at SSS on Feb. 25.