Morning Star Staff
The VSS Panthers used comeback mode to reach Saturday night’s Okanagan Senior AAA Boys Basketball Championships final.
VSS, ranked No. 7 in the province, rallied to stop the Okanagan Mission Huskies of Kelowna 77-71 in a semifinal thriller Friday night at the packed Panther Pit.
The Cats faced the No. 10 NorKam Saints – 76-71 winners over the Sa-Hal Sabres of Kamloops – in the final. The Valley champion moves to the provincials, March 12-15, at the Langley Events Centre
Okanagan Mission and VSS played close all night with the Panthers holding a 33-26 lead at the half. The Huskies pulled away in the fourth quarter and held a 10-point lead when Shelby Hartwig dialed up three treys in a 30-second spurt from the 7-Eleven on Highway 6 to pull the Cats to within one.
Chris Inscho then hit two free throws to put the Panthers ahead for good. John Garvie pocketed 25 points, while Hartwig canned 18 and Mitchell Pepper drained a dozen.
“Shelby’s three threes changed the momentum of the game and really energized the crowd and the team,” said VSS coach Glenn Garvie.
Meanwhile, the Fulton Maroons jumpstart the provincial senior AA boys championships Wednesday in Langley against the Notre Dame Jugglers of Vancouver. The Jugglers shared the 10th spot in the provincial rankings this week.
“We got the eighth seed which unfortunately means we get No. 1 in the second ground,” said Fulton head coach Dale Olson. “I have good scouts on all the teams and we have a good chance. We hurt ourselves by losing in the Valleys.”
The St. Michael’s University Blue Jags of Victoria are the top-rated school, followed by the Lambrick Park Lions of Victoria and R.C. Palmer Griffins of Richmond.
VSS opens the provincial senior AA girls tournament Wednesday at the Langley Events Centre Fieldhouse against Abbotsford Christian Knights.
The Panthers go in ranked sixth while Abby Christian is No. 11. The winner will meet the winner of the No. 3 St. Thomas More Knights of Burnaby and No. 14 Lambrick Park in quarterfinal action Thursday at 4:30 p.m.
