Morning Star Staff
It was only exhibition, but it felt like a playoff game as the Fulton Maroons and VSS Panthers put on a dazzling high school basketball show Wednesday night.
The AA Maroons brushed back the AAA Panthers 76-68, avenging an overtime loss almost a month ago at the Panther Pit.
“It was another great game,” said Fulton head coach Dale Olson. “The gym was packed to the rafters. The atmosphere was the best I’ve seen at a high school game in years. It was a very competetive, hard-fought, physical battle.”
Tye Kitzman flushed 18 points for the Maroons, while Michael Rouault and Riley Beauchamp each canned 17 and Cory Ang-Hamilton supplied 10.
John Garvie drained 26 points for the Panthers, while Chris Inscho supplied 18 and Shelby Hartwig registered 14 points and 14 rebounds.
“It was a great game again from two city rivals,” said VSS head coach Glenn Garvie.
The game was tied 33-33 at the half with Fulton moving in front by two after three quarters. The Maroons canned a pair of treys early in the fourth and never looked back.
The Seaton Sonics, all five of them, put a good scare into the Pleasant Valley Saints Wednesday night in Armstrong. Having been outplayed badly in their own gym two weeks ago, losing by 28 to the Saints, the Sonics, despite being on the brink of folding all year, played their guts out, arrived at the half tied 32-32, and lost 63-61.
Matt McEachran-Law, with 24, led the Sonic attack, with Caleb Yskes chipping in 13. Seaton forward Brent Matterson played the entire second half of the game with four fouls and did a masterful balancing act on defence to avoid fouling out, and also contributed nine points.
Seaton led by five early in the fourth, but fatigue and foul trouble allowed PVSS to crawl back in it and take a 63-58 lead with a minute left in the game.
Yskes hit a deep corner three off the quick in-bound dish from McEachran-Law to cut the lead to two, and PVSS turned the ball over under pressure on the inbound, but an inopportune travel call on the Sonics gave it right back to the Saints and they held on for the victory.
Fulton takes on the Pleasant Valley Saints today at 4:45 p.m. The senior girls game goes at 3 p.m.
Next game for VSS is a league tilt versus the Okanagan Mission Huskies Tuesday at 8:15 p.m.
The Kalamalka Lakers open the Kelowna Christian Knights tourney tonight at 6:45 against Similkameen Sparks of Keremeos.
The North Zone AA playoffs start Thursday at Fulton. Winner hosts the Valley championships, Feb. 20-22.
Meanwhile, the North Zone junior and senior playdowns opened Thursday night at Fulton with games resuming tonight at 6:30 and 8:00 on the girls side. VSS will host a boys game at 6:30.
Fulton won the junior girls regular-season title at 6-1, followed by VSS and Charles Bloom Timberwolves, both at 5-2. Kal was fourth at 4-3.
Salmon Arm topped the boys side at 5-0 ahead of VSS (4-1) and Fulton (3-2).
In other hoop news, Fulton grad Joe Enevoldson will lead the B.C. U16 Boys this year.
Enevoldson, an assistant coach with the Thompson Rivers University WolfPack, brings a wealth of experience as a provincial team coach in both B.C. and Alberta. He has served as a Centre for Performance head coach and has spent over 10 years as a Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) coach. The U16 boys will compete in several NCAA sanctioned tournaments, including nationals this summer at the Saville Sports Centre in Edmonton.
