They slipped in under the radar and stole the show.Mission Secondary School’s senior boys basketball team went into the AA Fraser Valley Championships unranked with an impressive 10-1 league record, but not many other teams considered the Roadrunners a credible threat, said coach Jim Pearce.“We got better and better every game,” he said, crediting the improvement to playing several AAA teams instead of sticking to the AA confines.Sharing coaching duties with Pearce is Danny Jakobs, who told The Record the boys stepped into the limelight fast by knocking down the provincially fourth-ranked team from Holy Cross 56-54 in overtime. MSS followed this with a 45-44 win last Wednesday over Southridge, ranked third in B.C.The Roadrunners faced off against Delview in the Fraser Valley finals last Saturday night and held the lead most of the game, said Pearce, eventually winning the match by three points, 56-53. Rhys Parry and Tanner Pearce earned first team all-star nods, while Luke Morris was named tournament MVP.Pretty good for a team with only three Grade 12s, said Pearce. “We’re a really young team.”The coaching staff have focused on playing a painfully constrictive defense which has kept opponents to a stingy average of 39 points.The boys start their voyage through the provincials March 8, seeded third in the province.
