Burnaby South passed its first big test of the B.C. high school boys’ basketball season.
The second-ranked Rebels topped a stellar 16-team field, including eight top-10 schools and two more honourable mentions, before eking out an 85-83 victory over No. 10-ranked Oak Bay Bays in the championship final of the Heritage Kodiak Klassic tournament in Port Moody on Saturday.
Jermaine Haley stroked the game-winning three-pointer with less than a minute left to play and then Tyus Batiste answered any chance of an Oak Bay comeback with a timely steal in the final seconds to give South its fifth win of the season without a loss.
Batiste led the way with 26 points, 12 rebounds and five steals. Haley and Nicolas Trninic added 23 and 22 points, respectively. Roshan Bhatti chipped in with 10 boards.
South opened with an 87-62 win over unranked Centennial. The Rebels then earned a spot in the semifinals following an 86-78 win in overtime over No. 5 Vancouver College.
Haley had a collosal double-double, pouring in 47 points and grabbing 13 boards. EJ Mabone helped out with 14 points and six rebounds.
Junior guard Steven Oropel also nailed a long-range three in OT to ice the win for the varsity Rebels.
“It was a big Lower Mainland game for us down the stretch,” said South’s first-year varsity head coach Mike Bell.
South advanced to the tournament final with an 81-62 win over the Terry Fox Ravens on Friday.
Haley had another big double, including 41 ponts and 11 boards. Batiste was Mr. Everything for the Rebels, contributing nine points, nine boards, six steals and six assists in the semifinal contest.
Earlier, No. 1-ranked Winston Churchill was knocked off by the No. 6 Ravens in the second round of the Kodiak Klassic.
“We knew what kind of team Terry Fox was … and we took advantage of their early aggression, winning the line battle which we want to do every game,” Bell said.
The Rebels will host the annual Rod Thomson Memorial hoop tournament at Burnaby South from Dec. 17 to 19.
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Mixed results for Hyacks
The New Westminster Hyacks junior girls’ basketball team finished in second place in the Power 12 Roundball Classic at Rick Hansen Secondary last weekend.
The Hyacks lost in the championship final 43-29 to Okanagan Mission – a preseason favourite and a provincial fourth-place-finisher at last year’s juvenile championships.
Aly Fieber and tournament all-star Sarah Forgie led the junior Hyacks with 10 and 11 points, respectively.
The senior Hyack girls fashioned a 2-4 record in their annual tour of Maui, Hawaii.
Justice Steer scored 10 points and Lauren Denusik chipped in with eight to lead the Hyacks to a 59-17 win over Honolulu’s LaPietra High in the consolation final at the King Kekualike Classic on Dec. 7.
Earlier in the week, New West went winless at the Maui High Invitational following single-digit losses to Maui and Kauai high schools.
The senior Hyack boys dropped a couple of exhibition games against Vancouver schools.
New West fell 80-64 to Windermere. Justin Aidoo led the Hyacks with 16 points.
The Hyacks also lost 97-51 to No. 4-ranked Kitsilano on Monday
