Morning Star Staff
Shane Groeneveld flushed 25 points as the Pleasant Valley Saints brushed back the VSS Panthers 82-77 in Saturday night’s final of the VSS Invitational Senior Boys Basketball Tournament.
The Saints led most of the way before the Cats levelled the score in the third quarter.
“That was the best performance this season by our boys,” said PVSS head coach George Koscis. “We’re peaking with the playoffs coming up.”
Ben Kornelsen canned 17 points for the Saints, while Braydon Weibe sank 15, Tyler Hatten rang up 14 and Quaid Lang provided 10.
John Garvie paced the Panthers with 29 points, while Zac Kronbauer bagged 13 and Seth Blundell sank 11.
The Saints took on the Fulton Maroons Tuesday night and visit the Seaton Sonics Thursday night.
Meanwhile, the Panther senior girls went 1-2 in the Tessa Beauchamp Foundation Tournament at Holy Cross in Surrey.
The tourney was established to honor and remember Holy Cross Crusaders basketball player Tessa Beauchamp, who lost a battle with cancer in 2012.
The third-ranked Riverside AAA Rapids of Coquitlam stopped the Panthers 58-47 with Jordan Korol nailing 17 points for VSS.
Jordyn Cullum added 11 points, while Anna Rice collected nine. Game star Rebekah Salway chipped in with six courageous points while playing on a badly injured foot.
VSS, ranked No. 3 in the AA poll, then toppled Holy Cross 72-63 behind 25 points from Korol and 24 from Jordyn Cullum.
“Game star Kristy Fugel and Jessica Melvin did a great job on the NCAA-bound Holy Cross star Nicole Vanderhelme,” said VSS coach Lonny Mazurak.
“We showed great composure in the last two minutes with a small lead to extend by making clutch free throws hold off the crusaders.
The Cats fell 61-55 to the St. Thomas Aquinas Fighting Saints of North Vancouver in consolation side play with Korol canning 25 points and Rice earning 14.
Korol received the Tessa Beauchamp scholarship to assist in her schooling at UBC Okanagan next year.
