The Byrne Creek Bulldogs won a game, they should never have lost and ultimately had no business winning.
But the Bulldogs found a way through senior guard Ian Soriano, who stole an inbounds pass with half-a-second left on the clock and scored the go-ahead bucket to lead Byrne Creek to a 60-56 victory over the visiting Burnaby South Rebels in district high school boys' basketball on Wednesday.
"In the last couple of years with this group, they would have lost (the game) and that says a lot," said Byrne Creek coach Wayne Best.
Byrne Creek jumped on the Rebels early in the regular season matchup, taking a 21-15 lead after a 12-point, first-quarter contribution from senior Nathal George.
But South buckled down on defence and began to find its range in the ensuing quarters, shaving the deficit to just a single bucket in the third period following a breakaway interception by Gino Pagbilao in the final seconds.
Pagbilao gave South its first lead early in the final frame, nailing his third three-pointer to put the Rebels ahead 48-45.
South extended that lead to as much as eight points, but Byrne found a way back in the final 60 seconds after George, who led all scorers with 22 points, drained a long-range bomb.
Thomas Abraham and Obi Obaze, with a key two-of-two, contributed from the free-throw line, leading up to Soriano's game-changing steal.
"Honestly, I just play as a leader and try to bring energy to the team. It wouldn't have happened without the team," said Soriano of his one and only score. "It just happened that that one basket was the difference."
But although Best was surprised with the victory, he was not with the effort. "That's how (Soriano) played all year - heart, grit, intensity, desire - it's his last year of competitive ball and he wants it to mean something, and he's playing like it," said Best. "He's our glue guy."
Byrne Creek, which got by Burnaby Mountain 61-54 on Monday, improved its league-leading record to 3-0.
The high-scoring New Westminster Hyacks also remained undefeated following an 89-33 victory over Alpha on Wednesday. New West opened its regular season schedule on Tuesday with a 96-41 win over Moscrop.
Mountain also remained in the hunt with a 64-46 win over Burnaby North.
