Vancouver's St. Patrick Celtics have won the Junior Boys Basketball Invitational Tournament in Langley.
Second-seeded Celtics outlasted the No. 1 Argyle Pipers from North Vancouver 83-73, in front of a packed crowd on South Court at Langley Events Centre on Tuesday night, Feb. 25.
The contest remained tight throughout, with the game hanging in the balance late in the fourth quarter.
With just a one-point lead in the latter stages, the Celtics hit back-to-back three-pointers to extend their advantage to seven, a margin the Pipers could not erase.
Facing an Argyle team that held a clear size advantage—boasting two players at 6’4” and 6’5”—the Celtics turned to their lethal outside shooting. The strategy paid off in a major way, as they drained 15 three-pointers. Leading the charge from deep was Dion Gonzales, who buried six threes on his way to a 20-point performance.
The star of the night, however, was Dhyme Cotin. The Celtics’ dynamic scorer erupted for 36 points, with 23 of those coming in the second half. Cotin’s clutch performance earned him both the Championship Player of the Game and Most Valuable Player honours.
On the other side, the Pipers put up a valiant effort behind the scoring of Nathan Szpak, who led his team with 20 points. Ilia Maydan and Jaydan Szpak also contributed significantly, adding 17 and 16 points, respectively.
In the third-place game, it was Surrey’s Lord Tweedsmuir Panthers defeating the Terry Fox Ravens (Port Coquitlam) 52-41.
Langley teams ended up out of the finals.
R.E. Mountain won 2 and lost 3, Walnut Grove won 3 and lost 2, Langley Fundamental won 2 and lost 3, and Brookswood won 2 and lost 3.
Immediately following the boys action at LEC, high school girls take to the courts for the BC School Sports Girls Basketball Provincial Championships between Feb. 26 an March 1, again at LEC, games starting daily at 8:30 a.m.
