Burnaby South got taken to school by the Sir Winston Churchill Bulldogs at the Lower Mainland high school quad A boys' basketball championships.
The defending B.C. 4A champs spotted South an 8-0 start and then took over at both ends of the court en route to a 94-86 win in the title game at the Richmond Olympic Oval on Friday.
Churchill finished the first quarter on a 25-7 run and then dominated the second with 28 more points to go into halftime with a big 19-point lead.
South managed to shave the deficit down to single digits by the final quarter, but near-perfect 21-for-26 shooting from the free-throw line allowed Churchill to hold on to its advantage.
"Athletically, we couldn't compete with them. Jermaine (Haley) can jump out of the roof. Tyus (Batiste) can jump out of the roof. We had to do something else," said second team tournament all-star Karn Virk, who had 19 points for the Bulldogs.
That something else was solid fundamental basketball - finding good looks on offence, keeping South largely to the perimetre and getting to the backboards at both ends of the floor.
First-team all-stars Lambert Pajoyon and Harry Liu led the Bulldogs with 26 and 20 points, respectively. Gary Minhas chipped in with 16, including nine-of-10 fourth quarter points from the charity stripe.
South's Jermaine Haley led all scorers with 39 points, including 16 in the final 10 minutes in a last-ditch effort to claw the Rebels back into the game.
Batiste was next with 18 points, including four three-pointers.
Haley and Batsiste were both named first team all-stars. Nic Trninic was a second-team pick.
"They just worked harder than we did," said Burnaby South guard EJ Mabone, who had 13 points, one block and four steals for the Rebels. "They were beating us at all aspects of the game."
South managed just 10 rebounds in the first half of play, and just two off the offensive glass.
That stat and Churchill's ability to put up more than 50 first-half points, stifled the Rebels' transition game.
"That was probably (Churchill's) best game, but it wasn't anywhere near our best game," Mabone said. "We have to work on our team defence."
Despite the loss, South advanced to the B.C. high school championships in Langley with the second Mainland berth.
Honourable mention David Thompson will be making its first appearance in 47 years following an upset 74-63 win over No. 3-ranked Vancouver College for the Mainland's third berth into the B.C.s.
Thompson's Harry Brar, who averaged 38 points per game, including 54 alone in a double-overtime win over St. George's earlier in the Mainlands, was named the MVP.
The 4A boys' provincial championships will take place at the Langley Events Centre from March 11 to 14.
