The host Rutland Voodoos held the KLO Cougars to only 11 points in the second half of the final game to capture the RSS Fastbreak Classic junior boys basketball title on the weekend.
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Isaac Young, averaging 18 points in three tournament games, led the Voodoos with 20 points and 12 rebounds in a 51-29 victory over KLO Grade 9s on Saturday. Austin Shreeves contributed eight points for the winners while Hunter Simson was the top scorer for the Cougars with eight.
The Voodoos reached the final of the eight-team event by cruising to a 61-23 win over the Immaculata Mustangs in semifinal play that saw Young score 15 points and Prabhtej Deol net 10 for RSS. KLO earned its berth in the title match by defeating the Okanagan Mission 9s and RSS 9s.
Rutland opened the annual event by downing the Kelowna Christian School Knights 47-35, with Young again pacing the Voodoo offence with 20 points.
The Kelowna Owls are No. 2, but closing the gap.
On the short end of an 83-62 score at the hands the No. 1 Walnut Grove Gators a month ago, the Owls served notice on the weekend they’re still in the running to repeat as B.C High School Boys Basketball Association quad-A champions.
While the Owls dropped a 68-64 decision to the Gators in the final of the highly touted Legal Beagle tournament in Port Coquitlam (Terry Fox Secondary), it was obvious the Kelowna Secondary School representatives are gaining ground.
“We’ve got two months until March rolls around,” noted KSS head coach, Harry Parmar, in an interview with The Province’s Howard Tsumura. “Our kids are getting better. Right now our offence is a bit behind, but we’re headed in the right direction.
“The last time we played them, we were just behind in the speed of the game and our composure. We’re slowly catching up. We want to win on March 11 (provincial final) . . . when it really counts. That said, we still want to build confidence.”
Leading 15-14 at the quarter against Walnut Grove in the final, the Owls trailed 34-33 at the half and 52-50 going into the fourth quarter. A pair of free throws by Mason Bourcier pulled KSS to within two (66-64) with 57 seconds remaining, but that’s as close as the Owls would get.
Bourcier’s 26 points and 15 rebounds in the final confirmed his status as a tournament all-star, while fellow Grade 12 teammate Owen Keyes added 13 points and was also named to the weekend dream team.
The Owls reached the final by defeating honourable-mention Tamanawis Wildcats of Surrey 94-67 in a semifinal game that saw the winners lead from start to finish.
Grade 11 Matt Williamson, a second-team all-star, led the Owls with 26 points. Bourcier added 22 points and 12 boards while rookie David Wieczorek contributed 16.
KSS opened the tournament by defeating No. 10 Semiahmoo Totems of Surrey 90-63, with Bourcier scoring 29 points and Keyes adding 20 to go along with 12 by Williamson.
Their second game saw the Owls win a defensive battle against No. 3 Oak Bay by a score of 68-47. Bourcier again led the way with 22 points while Keyes chipped in with 16 points and 12 rebounds.
Unranked going into the W.J. Mouat Hawkball junior boys tournament in Abbotsford on the weekend, the Okanagan Mission Huskies are expected to be included among the province’s elite after winning two of three games.
The Huskies started out with a 49-43 win over No. 10-ranked Kitsilano Blue Demons, and while they were edged 58-50 by No. 1 Lord Tweedsmuir Panthers of Surrey in semifinal play, they knocked off the No. 8 host Hawks 44-41 for third place.
An 18-point performance by tournament all-star, Matt Kopp, set the pace for the OKM in its opener against Kits. Harrison Bortolon added 12 points for the winners, with Ben Hitchens contributing 10, including a pair of treys.
Bortolon’s 19 points was high for the Huskies against Lord Tweedsmuir. Kopp added 14 points to go along with 10 from Phil Michl.
In the bronze medal encounter, Kopp and Bortolon both netted 12 points to lead the Huskies who also got 11 from Justin Charlton.
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