Wildcats win OT thriller, while Thunder strike down Highlanders

The Tamanawis Wildcats rallied to force overtime and then stunned the No. 1 Oak Bay Bays 80-79 in semi-final action at the BC School Sports 4A Boys Basketball Provincial Championships at Langley Events Centre. Ryan Molag photo

After defeating the No. 1 seed in overtime, the fourth-seeded Tamanawis Wildcats now get a shot at another Victoria school, the No. 2 Spectrum Thunder. Tamanawis was a 80-79 winner in overtime over the Oak Bay Bays while the Thunder won 59-52 over the No. 3 West Vancouver Highlanders in the other semi-final.

It sets up a showdown on Saturday night (Arena Bowl, 7:45pm) in the finals of the BC School Sports 4A Boys Basketball Provincial Championships at Langley Events Centre. The title will be the first 4A championship for either program.

#4 Tamanawis Wildcats 80 #1 Oak Bay Bays 79 (OT)

The Tamanawis Wildcats trailed for much of Friday’s semi-final contest – they were only ahead for 7:54 of the 45 minutes, but they prevailed 80-79 over the top seeded Oak Bay Bays. The Wildcats forced extra time with a late layup and then hit a pair of huge 3-pointers in overtime to book a spot in the championship final.

Four Wildcats finished in double figures with Sartaj Bhangu leading the way with 18 while Seva Virk and Arjun Hehar each scoring 17 with Michael Adariwah-Nti’s late layup forcing overtime and giving him 11 points. Thomas Beames led the Bays with 23.

#2 Spectrum Thunder 59 #3 West Vancouver Highlanders 52

Victoria’s Spectrum Thunder outscored the West Vancouver Highlanders 19-10 in the fourth quarter, punching their ticket to the championship final with a 59-52 win. Tyler Felt and Justin Hinrichsen each had 18 points for Spectrum. Max Ndolvu-Fraser scored 20 for the Highlanders with Finn Chapman adding 16.