It was basically the Okanagan Valley high school version of March Madness Final Four Saturday at UBC’s Okanagan campus.
The top high school basketball players from around the Valley put on a dazzling show for the many people in attendance.
“The up and down pace of all four games made for exciting basketball as every player on the floor looked to prove why they were selected an all-star,” said Cary Mellon of UBCO athletics.
The senior girls’ was the closest game of the four, with Vernon Panthers’ coach Bobby Mitchell leading his Dark team to a 71-60 win over Lisa Nevoral’s (Kelowna Owls) Light team.
Princeton’s Julia Reichert led the Dark squad with 17 points, while Princeton’s Ciara Bomford scored 15 for the Light squad. Each player was named their team’s Player of the Game.
Quinsy Leier of VSS managed five points and Panther teammate Sage Blundell had a deuce for the winners. Mary Rice of VSS had two points for the losers.
In the marquee senior boys game, Cornell-bound seven-footer Braxston Bunce (Kelowna) managed 13 points, but it was not nearly enough as UBCO Heat assistant coach Matt Heyworth led his Light squad to a 102-56 victory over Kelly Broderick’s (Mt. Boucherie Bears) Dark team.
South Okanagan Secondary’s Greet Gill was Game MVP for the Light squad with an impressive 32 points. Game MVP for the Dark squad was South Kamloops guard Elijah Hillis-Gold.
Former Armstrong product Mitch Chapman (Owls) flushed eight points for the Light crew, which had Mitch Rouault of the Fulton Maroons on their roster.
In the junior girls game, the Dark team, coached by Thompson River WolfPack women’s head coach Scott Reeves, defeated the Light team, coached by Junior Heat U15 coach Kirsten Mulleny, 52-37.
Player of the game and leading scorer for the Light team was Charlotte Lewthwaite (Owls) with 12 points. Kianna Lalonde (Owls) was the leading scorer and the Dark team’s Game MVP with 17.
The junior boy’s game was a high-scoring affair. The Dark team, coached by third-year Heat player Ed Dane Medi, dropped the Light team 92-72. The Light team was coached by another Heat player, graduating post Steve Morrison.
The Dark team won by getting contributions up and down the roster with Cooper Simson (Owls) leading the team with 21 points, and player of the game honours going to Michael Mayhew (St. Ann’s of Kamloops) with eight points. Buzz Truss of the Owls drained 22 points to earn player of the game for the Lights.
