Two underdogs still alive in quest for 1A title

Immaculata (black) defeated the Ucluelet Warriors in quarter-final action at the BC School Sports 1A Boys Basketball Provincial Tournament. Ryan Molag photo

The path to a provincial banner grew narrower on Thursday as quarter-final games across all four tiers of the BC School Sports Boys Basketball Provincial Championships played out at Langley Events Centre, leaving just four teams standing in each bracket heading into Friday’s semi-final round.

Tickets are available for purchase and every game of all four championships is also available to stream through pay-per-view at TFSETV.ca. Daily schedules, scores and news can also be found at www.bchighschoolbasketballchampionships.com.

1A Tournament

Two double-digit seeds and all three Thompson-Okanagan Zone teams are among the final four teams at the BC School Sports 1A Boys Basketball Provincial Tournament at Langley Events Centre.

3:30pm – St. John’s School Eagles (#1) vs. Immaculata Mustangs (#12)

5:15pm –Similkameen Sparks (#10) vs. Vernon Christian Royals (#3)

Both games will be played on Centre Court.

Immaculata 78 Ucluelet 68

For the second straight day, the No. 12 seed from Kelowna pulled off an upset, knocking off the No. 4 Ucluelet Warriors 78-68 in the quarter-finals behind a 31-point performance from Mateo Rizzo.

The Mustangs led by as many as 22 before the Warriors stormed back to briefly take the lead in the fourth quarter, but Immaculata answered and closed out the win. Riley Gerbrandt led Ucluelet with 20 points, while Julien Sylvester added 19.

St. John’s School 82 Credo Christian 54

Defending champion and top-seed St. John’s School Eagles jumped out to an early first-half lead and secured a spot in the final four with an 82-54 victory over the Credo Christian Kodiaks. Douglas Cassidy poured in 27 points and Kian Afshar added 25, accounting for more than 60% of the Eagles’ scoring. Ben Vanderhorst and Jack Bouldman each had 13 for the Kodiaks.

Similkameen 75 Daaxigaan Sḵadáa Née 69

The No. 10 seed Similkameen Sparks kept their Cinderella run alive, toppling the No. 2 Daaxigaan Sḵadáa Née Thunderbirds 75-69. The Thunderbirds clawed back in the fourth to get within a basket, but the Sparks closed strong, scoring seven of the final 10 points, highlighted by a clutch 3-pointer. Balkaran Lidhar led Similkameen with 28 points, while Jasdeep Dhaliwal added 25, including 13 in the fourth. Naden Brown paced the Thunderbirds with 31.

Vernon Christian 75 Meadowridge 61

The two-man show of Oliver Gingras (31 points) and JD Vass (26) proved unstoppable as the duo combined for 57 of their team’s points in a 75-61 win for the Vernon Christian Royals over the Meadowridge Gryphons. Myles Galazka’s 15 points led the Gryphons.

DAY 2 SCORES