March Madness at UBC Okanagan

In a full day of basketball at UBC’s Okanagan campus, the top High School basketball players from up and down the Valley put on a show for the many people in attendance.

The up and down pace of all four games made for exciting basketball as every player on the floor looked to prove why they were selected an all-star. Although none of the four games proved to be as close as the NCAA Final Four matchups happening at the same time in New Orleans, the games were just as exciting in their own way, as all participants competed hard when on the floor.

In the junior girls game the Dark team, coached by Thompson River WolfPack women’s basketball team’s head coach Scott Reaves, defeated the Light team, coached by Junior Heat U15 coach Kirsten Mulleny, by a score of 52-37. Player of the game and leading scorer for the Light team was Charlotte Lewthwaite with 12 points; Kianna Lalonde was the leading scorer and the Dark team’s player of the game with 17. Both girls played at Kelowna Secondary this past year.

The junior boy’s game was a high scoring affair. The Dark team, coached by third year Heat player Ed Dane Medi, dropped the Light team 92-72. The Light team was coached by another Heat player, graduating post Steve Morrison. The Dark team won by getting contributions up and down the roster with Cooper Simson (Kelowna Sec.) leading the team with 21 points, and player of the game honours going to Michael Mayhew playing for St. Ann’s of Kamloops. Buzz Truss from the Kelowna Secondary Owls put in 22 of his teams’ 72 to earn player of the game for the Light’s.

The senior girls was the closest game of the four, but Vernon Secondary coach Bobby Mitchell led his Dark team to a 71-60 win over Lisa Nevoral’s (Kelowna Sec. Sr. Girls) Light team. Princeton’s Julia Reichert led the way for the Dark squad with 17 points, while Princeton baller Ciara Bomford scored 15 for the Light squad. Each player was named Player of the Game for their respective team.

In the marquee senior boy’s game, Cornell bound 7-footer Braxston Bunce (Kelowna Sec.) managed 13 points but it was not nearly enough as Heat assistant coach Matt Heyworth led his Light squad to a 102-56 victory over Kelly Broderick’s (Mt. Boucherie Sr. Boys, Heat men’s assistant) Dark team. South Okanagan Secondary’s Greet Gill was player of the game for the Light squad with an impressive 32 points. Player of the game for the Dark squad was South Kamloops guard Elijah Hillis-Gold.

A special thanks goes out to the officials; all four games were refereed by local basketball referees on a volunteer basis. Thanks also go out for the time put in by the coaches to come out and take part in this celebration of Okanagan basketball.