Now that's how you start the day.
The Byrne Creek Bulldogs launched the 2017 3-A senior boys basketball championships Wednesday morning with a solid 77-58 victory over the Duchess Park Condors at the Langley Events Centre.
Sparked by some radar-like distance shooting by guard Sufi Ahmed, the Bulldogs erased a 12-9 deficit to roll ahead and never look back, although for a few minutes the Prince George team pulled it close.
"We came out a little jittery but once we relaxed we were okay. We made some adjustments at halftime that they had a hard time with, but ultimately I wouldn't call that a warm up; that's a very good team," said coach Bal Dhillon.
In a game of ebbs and flows, cold shots and hot hands was a decisive factor as Byrne's outside shooters found their range while Duchess Park's fell short.
Game star Sufi Ahmed scored a game-high 17 points, including five three-pointers, to quell the early game nerves, while Majok Deng delivered a momentum-rattling slam midway through the third quarter that kick-started a 12-2 run, giving the Lower Mainland champs control of the game.
"To start, I was (nervous)," Ahmed said. " I missed my first (three-point) shot but we offered really good as a collective. We kept pushing the ball. After my first miss I kind of caught fire."
Trailing 12-6 in a scrambly first quarter, the Burnaby squad caught fire beginning with 3:10 left when six-foot-three guard Bithow Wan cashed in the game's first three-pointer. A minute later Martin Djunga made it a one-point game, followed by Ahmed, who drained a trey with :46 remaining in the quarter to give the Bulldogs a 14-12 lead.
The smooth-shooting guard proceeded to hit back-to-back long distance buckets to kick off the second quarter as the No. 3-seeded Bulldogs opened an 11-point lead halfway through the frame, before the northern team found its footing.
The focus changed when Wan was tagged with his third foul of the quarter, resulting in him taking a seat and Duchess Park getting a window of opportunity. They ran with it and pulled it to 31-29 at halftime.
On their first shot of the second half, the Condors' Malcolm MacDonald tied the game. In response, Djunga countered with six of the next eight points as Byrne restaked a lead that would grow to 12 points -- 53-41 -- after three quarters.
Part of that run occurred with Wan again on the bench to avoid a fifth foul, and the Condors pressing for space. Defensive adjustments held them in check most of the second half, but Byrne Creek was still nursing a nine-point lead two minutes into the fourth quarter before the gap reached a comfort zone.
"We actually made a run in the second half without Bithow. The lesson we take from that is it doesn't matter who's on the floor, we're at provincials," said Dhillon. "Everybody can play, everybody is good, and teams can make runs. That was expected from them. I'm not surprised that they made such a run. This is provincials -- the competition is deep."
The Bulldogs now play the winner of Charles Hays and Lord Byng, in the quarterfinal on Thursday, 5:15 p.m. at the Langley Events Centre.
