The Bulkley Valley Christian School (BVCS) Senior Boys basketball team will be heading to provincials in March for the seventh straight year after winning the “A” boys Northwest zone championship in Hazelton last weekend.
The zone championship included four teams from Houston, Terrace, Queen Charlotte City, and Smithers. The finals featured the BVCS Royals against the Centennial Christian Seahawks from Terrace.
In the finals, the first half featured some intense play from both sides before BVCS pulled away in the second half and won 97-39. In the end, BVCS’s balanced scoring and stifling defense was too much for the Seahawks.
The game for third saw GKNESS from Queen Charlotte City defeating Houston Secondary. Nathan Steenhof was named the tournament MVP while Noah Delege and Brett Groot were all-stars.
The victory continues an amazing run of five tournament wins and a 19-1 record. The strength of the BVCS team according to their coach is a total team commitment to defense, working hard, and disciplined play.
“Our strength is in our team play for sure. When teams try to take away what they think our biggest threat is, other guys step up and play well. We also have players who pride themselves on playing intense defense,” said Chris Steenhof, one of the coaches of the team.
Despite the success of the season so far, the focus of the year has been on the upcoming provincials, which will feature some of biggest challenges the Royals will face this season. The Royals hope to improve on last year’s sixth-place finish.
“Our goal from the beginning of the year was to play in a medal game at provincials. With so many good teams, we would have to play well but it’s definitely a possibility this year,” said Steenhof.
The provincials take place March 7-10 in Langley. This means a few more intense practices, honing skills, and ensuring that the team is as prepared as possible for the upcoming test.
“We want to be as prepared as possible, to be ready to work hard, and the rest will take care of itself. It’s been a wonderful season so far with a great group of guys and we are glad it can last a couple of weeks longer,” said Steenhof.
– Submitted article
