The Smithers Secondary School Junior Boys basketball team is heading to provincials.
The boys won zones last weekend at home and have finished the regular season undefeated.
They beat Terrace’s Caledonia team in the final match 54-30 on Saturday.
It was close for the first half of the game but Coach Hugh Cyr, who coaches alongside Ben Anderson said they had a mindset to outrun their oppenents and tire them out.
“And so we just kind of tried to keep the pedal down,” he said. “They kept running and pushing it and we slowly wore them down and then kind of mid-quarter we were up. Fourth quarter, we were up by 25. And then we kind of had it had in hand, and we finished it off with a 20-point win.”
He said playing on home court had its advantages.
“The community support and engagement for this event was phenomenal. Both our Friday night game, which was a really close win over Prince Rupert and then our Saturday game over Caledonia, the stands were packed, and the fans were into it and cheering,” he said.
“And I could see players that used to play years ago in the stands and people that may not be into basketball, just knowing that something’s happening with this team and wanting to be a part of it.
“So it was full, and they were cheering and they’re excited. And that created a great atmosphere.”
Micah Urban, who was named tournament all-star in Prince Rupert last month, was named tournament MVP.
The team heads to the provincial tournament in two weeks in Langley to represent the northwest division.
The top 31 junior teams from all across the province will be in the tournament.
“These boys will never forget this season,” Cyr added.
READ MORE: SSS Jr Boys Basketball team dominate regular season
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