For four teams, the dream of a B.C. title is still alive after a thrilling quarterfinal round at the Langley Events Centre on Thursday.
For the Byrne Creek Bulldogs, there is little time to savor the moment.
The Burnaby senior boys basketball team outlasted the Lord Byng Grey Ghosts 67-64 to advance to the Final Four at the B.C. High School 3-A boys basketball championships in Langley.
With scoring coming from a well-stocked lineup of sharpshooters, the Bulldogs fended off the persistent pressure from Lord Byng to move on to meet South Kamloops in tonight's (Friday) semifinal, 3:30 p.m. at the Langley Events Centre.
Player of the game Majok Deng tallied 11 points and reeled in five rebounds, while Martin Djunga counted a team-high 13 points. Byrne Creek's route to the Final Four saw them shake off a five-point deficit after one quarter, emerge tied at the half and trade shots right to the wire. With six minutes to play, the Bulldogs were clinging to a 52-51 lead, but got just enough breathing room down the stretch to let the defence make it count.
But Byng kept within a shot from changing the storyline.
Abdul Bangura tallied 10 points, while Bithow Wan added nine points for the No.3-seed Bulldogs.
They now face a No. 2-seeded South Kamloops team that handily stopped Robert Bateman 73-51 on Thursday.
The winner of Friday's semifinal will advance to the championship game, 6 p.m. on Saturday.
For the St. Thomas More Knights, the games over the next two days take on a different meaning after losing a heartbreaking 61-59 squeaker to No. 1-ranked Rick Hansen in one of the other 3-A quarterfinals on Thursday.
Hansen's point guard Josh Dhillon delivered a star-turn while piloting his team into the driver's seat over a furious six minutes. While STM held momentum briefly to start the final quarter, they were unable to slow down Dhillon and Co.'s furious comeback charge.
After surrendering a pair of back-to-back buckets to More's Sajjan Shokar, Hansen caught fire and erased a 13-point deficit in quick fashion. They rattled off 17 straight points, with Gurkaran Mangat's rebound tying the score with 3:09 on the clock.
Dhillon then calmly gave the 'Canes a 59-57 lead on a layup, and converted the three-point play. While More would get to the foul line with 19 seconds remaining, the ball wouldn't drop for Cam Morris. The Burnaby senior would get a second chance, after Hansen cashed in a single free throw of its own, and while sinking the pair, time ran out.
It capped a comeback which saw the 'Canes fall behind 45-25 midway through the third quarter, but finding daylight to spark a series of potent runs.
Dhillon scored a game-high 25 points, while Shokar led STM with 16 points, and Morris chipped in 15. With the loss, the Knights will face Steveston-London on Friday, 7 p.m., with the winner getting a shot at finishing fifth.
