OT thriller sends M.E.I. Eagles into final four

The M.E.I. Eagles twice rallied in the dying seconds to win their quarter-final game at the BC School Sports 3A Boys Basketball Provincial Championships at Langley Events Centre. Ryan Molag photo

It will be the top three seeds plus No. 5 in the semi-final round at the BC School Sports 3A Boys Basketball Provincial Championships at Langley Events Centre.

The fifth-seeded M.E.I. Eagles (Abbotsford) crashed the top four with a dramatic overtime win. The Eagles now face the two-time defending champion St. Patrick Celtics (Vancouver). The other semi-final features the No. 2 Dover Bay Dolphins (Nanaimo) and the No. 3 Lord Byng Grey Ghosts (Vancouver). The games are set for 3:30pm and 5:15pm and both are in the LEC Arena Bowl.

#2 Dover Bay Dolphins 89 #7 St. Thomas More Collegiate Knights 65

A 22-9 run to open the game set the tone early as the Dover Bay Dolphins advanced to the final four with the 89-65 win over the St. Thomas More Collegiate Knights. Tarman Sandhu scored 16 in the first quarte alone for Dover Bay, finishing with 29 points. That included six 3-pointers. Zeru Abera’s 25 points were tops on the Knights.

#3 Lord Byng Grey Ghosts 78 #11 Mark R. Isfeld Ice 53

The Lord Byng Grey Ghosts denied the Mark R. Isfeld a second straight bid for an upset. Facing the No. 11 seed – the lone non-top 8 team among any of the four tiers to win on Wednesday – Lord Byng found itself down 15-11 after 10 minutes. But a second quarter which saw them outscore their opponent 21-9 firmly put the No. 3 seed in charge as they finished off a 78-53 win. Dylan King (23 points) and Marco Radic (17) combined for 40 points for Byng. Daxin Moldenhauer finished with 22 for the Ice.

#5 M.E.I. Eagles 67 #4 North Delta Huskies 66 (OT)

The M.E.I. Eagles twice rallied in the dying seconds, first forcing overtime with 0.5 seconds to play, and then hitting a 3-pointer, stealing the inbounds pass and scoring what turned out to be the winning points with less than six seconds to play, stunning the North Delta Huskies 67-66. Grade 10 forward Mercer Thiessen led the Eagles with 18 points while both Isaiah Lee and Nathan Laspa each scored a dozen. Joseph Baku had 20 for the Huskies while Arjan Atwal chipping in 17.

#1 St. Patrick Celtics 68 #8 A.R. MacNeill Ravens 54

Grade 10 guard Riley Santa Juana scored 28 points as the St. Patrick Celtics moved to the final four with their 68-54 win over the A.R. MacNeill Ravens. Chad Gammad had 27 points to lead the Ravens.