The Mark Isfeld Ice senior boys basketball team finished fourth at the B.C. AAA high school championships, March 12-15 at the Langley Events Centre.
The Ice (Vancouver Island #1) opened with a 45-39 win over the Maple Ridge Ramblers (Fraser Valley #3) on Wednesday. The Courtenay crew trailed 14-9 after one quarter and 21-16 at the half but kicked their offence into high gear the rest of the way.
They out-scored Maple Ridge 15-8 in the third quarter to grab a 31-29 lead, then traded buckets in the fourth quarter to emerge with a six-point margin of victory.
The Ice scoring was evenly balanced. Morgan Proctor led the way with 10 points while Richard Girard, Cole Hutchings and Kaefer Owen added nine each. Kaefer Noah contributed eight points. Girard had four steal and four assists while Noah and Proctor each blocked a shot.
In Thursday’s quarter-finals, the Ice edged Sir Charles Tupper Tigers (Lower Mainland #1) 61-60. Isfeld led 20-13 after one quarter and 35-25 at the half. The Tigers closed the gap to 44-39 after three quarter, but the Ice hung on for the one-point win.
Hutchings had a game-high 24 points while Proctor added 14 and Owen scored 10.
In Friday’s semifinals the Ice fell 73-65 to Charles Hays Rainmakers (North West). Isfeld led 25-24 after one quarter and 45-43 at the half, but Charles Hays had a big 16-9 third quarter to move in front 59-54 then held on for the eight-point win.
Hutchings again led all scorers with 26 points while Girard added 17 and Owen hit for 12.
On Saturday the B.C. bronze medal was on the line when the Ice met the Abbotsford Panthers (Fraser Valley #1). It was close through the first half with Abbotsford leading 21-20 and 37-36 by quarter. But the Panthers got stronger as the game wore on, opening a 51-42 lead after three quarters then out-scoring the Ice 20-9 down the stretch to win by 20.
Hutchings led all scorers with 18 points while Girard had 14 and Proctor scored 11. For his sterling efforts, Hutchings was named Best Defensive Player at the 16-team tourney and also was selected to the first all-star team.
St. Thomas More (Lower Mainland #2) defeated Charles Hays 53-38 to win the provincial crown.
