Boys take to court for provincial quarter-final action

A pair of No. 9 and 10 seeds, as well as a No. 12, 13 and 14 seeds were all upset winners in their respective tiers on Day 1 of the BC School Sports Boys Basketball Provincial Championships.

The No. 14 College Heights Cougars won on a last-second shot to advance in the 3A tournament while in the 4A tournament, the No. 13 Elgin Park Orcas are through to the final 8, and in the 2A tournament, the reigning champion (but No. 12 seed) Westsyde Whundas were also winners, as were the No. 10 Langley Christian Lightning.

The No. 9 seeds in both the 2A (Summerland) and 3A (Argyle) also pulled off the wins in their respective 8-9 matchups. And in the 1A tournament, the No. 10 Brookes Westshore Gryphons were winners in their opening round game.

Each tournament’s quarter-final matchups begin at 3:30 p.m. today (Thursday, March 9).

For full tournament results, scoresheets, schedule, tickets, and more, people can visit www.bchighschoolbasketballchampionships.com

Single game and tournament passes are available for sale online and all of the games are also available to stream through pay-per-view at tfsetv.ca.

RECENT: Boys bball action gets underway at Langley Events Centre

1A tournament

The Deer Lake Falcons (No. 6) will face the No. 3 Aberdeen Hall Gryphons after each team posted a convincing victory in their respective openers. Deer Lake was a 77-40 winner over Golden and Aberdeen Hall defeated Ucluelet 92-52.

The other quarter-final contest on that half of the draw sees the No. 2 King David Lions against the No. 10 Brookes Westshore Gryphons. The Gryphons won 53-41 over the Gidgalang Kuuyas Naay Breakers while King David prevailed 88-58 over the Similkameen Sparks.

The top half of the draw sees the No. 1 seed Unity Christian Flames match up against the No. 8 Cedars Christian Eagles. The Flames defeated the Sir Alexander Mackenzie Grizzlies 126-47 while the Eagles rallied for a 44-40 win over the No. 9 St. Ann’s Academy Crusaders.

The final quarter-final has the No. 4 Nanaimo Christian Trail Blazers against the No. 5 St. John’s Eagles. The Trail Blazers won 90-60 over the Regent Christian Academy Royals and the Eagles won 84-58 against the North Christian Northstars.

2A tournament

Day 2’s quarter-final round kicks off with the third-ranked Pacific Academy Breakers and the No. 6 John Barsby Bulldogs. The Bulldogs won 78-51 over the Khalsa School Lions and the Breakers defeated the Nechako Valley Vikings 78-65.

The other matchup on the bottom half of the draw features the second-seed King George Dragons and the No. 10 Langley Christian Lightning. The Lightning held off the No. 7 Lambrick Park Lions 78-74 while the Dragons won 77-51 over the Fernie Falcons.

Top-ranked Brentwood College advanced to play against the No. 9 Summerland Rockets as the Rockets were 85-74 winners over the No. 8 Collingwood Cavaliers while Brentwood College won 97-65 over the No. 16 Archbishop Carney Stars.

And the final two teams in the quarter-final round are the fourth-seed St. Thomas Aquinas Fighting Saints – who won 69-46 over the Charles Hays Rainmakers – while the 12^th seed (and defending champion) Westsyde Whundas knocked of the No. 5 Southridge Storm 76-69.

3A tournament

The most dramatic game of the opening 32 games across all four tournaments was the No. 14 College Heights Cougars hitting a buzzer-beating shot to down the No. 3 St. Thomas More Collegiate Knights 62-60. The victory sets up a quarter-final game against the No. 6 North Delta Huskies after the South Fraser champion were 71-47 winners against the Alberni District Armada.

The other quarter-final on that half of the draw will feature the Dover Bay Dolphins and the MEI Eagles. The Eagles outlasted the Steveston-London Sharks 93-88 and the Dolphins won 81-34 against the Caledonia Kermodes.

On the top half of the draw, the defending champion (and top seed) St. Patrick Celtics won 127-41 over the J.L. Crowe Hawks. Up next for the Celtics will be the No. 9 Argyle Pipers who won 79-59 over the No. 8 A.R. MacNeill Ravens.

The other quarter-final contest pits the fourth-seed Byrne Creek Bulldogs and the No. 5 Lord Byng Grey Ghosts. Lord Byng won 60-50 over the Wellington Wildcats and the Bulldogs defeated the South Kamloops Titans 75-66.

We are down to 8 teams in contention for our @BCSchoolSports title after opening round action at @LangleyEvents Recap: https://t.co/whZgDmShKX

— BC 4A Boys Basketball (@BC4ABoysBBall) March 9, 2023

4A tournament

Seven of the top eight seeds advanced to round two with the lone exception being the No. 13 Elgin Park Orcas following their 67-63 win over the No. 4 St. George’s School Saints. The Orcas now match up with the No. 5 Kelowna Owls following the Thompson-Okanagan champions 79-60 victory over the Claremont Spartans.

The other quarter-final game on the top half of the draw features the No. 1 seed Semiahmoo Thunderbirds – 116-52 winners over the Mount Baker Wild – and the No. 8 Terry Fox Ravens, following their 70-45 win over the West Vancouver Highlanders.

The bottom half of the draw sees the No. 3 Vancouver College Fighting Irish and the No. 6 Fleetwood Park Dragons. The Dragons won 75-47 over the W.J. Mouat Hawks and the Irish were 84-69 winners over the Tamanawis Wildcats.

And the other quarter-final clash features the No. 7 Abbotsford Senior Panthers and the No. 2 Oak Bay Bays. The Bays won 102-54 over the No. 15 Prince George Polars and the Panthers defeated the No. 10 Heritage Woods Kodiaks 85-76.

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