The Vanier Towhees senior boys basketball team hosts their 48th annual Towhee Invitational this weekend (Jan. 13-14) at the Towhees’ Nest in Courtenay.
Action in the Vanier gym gets underway Friday at 2:30 p.m. and runs through to the final at 8 p.m. Saturday. Joining the Towhees are the Timberline Wolves (Campbell River), Kwalikum Kondors (Qualicum Beach), Rutland Voodoos (Kelowna), New Westminster Hyacks, Royal Bay Ravens (Victoria), WJ Mouat Hawks (Abbotsford) and Parkland Panthers (Sidney).
“It should be a great tournament to watch,” said Vanier head coach Larry Street, whose team is fresh off a third-place (tie) finish at the 12-team Claremont Tournament in Victoria.
The Towhees opened with a 56-44 win over Enver Creek of Surrey. “Always a tough team for us and we needed to be ready for their athleticism and size,” Street said.
“Every player who attended contributed great minutes. Levi Timmermans led the way with 12 points, 10 rebounds and seven steals. Coen Leopkey-Johnson (15 points) was the leader he continues to be as the season progresses. Bentley Barth and Rheyden Le are our defensive stoppers,” Street said.
Game two was against Island 2A #3 ranked Lambrick Park of Victoria. “Certainly one of the premier teams on the Island, Lambrick overwhelmed us with excellent pressure defence, and fantastic team play, ending up 87-71 winners,” said Street, whose team is ranked 4A #4.
Game three at 9 a.m. Saturday was a wake-up call for Mt. Doug of Victoria as Vanier totally dominated on defence and every Towhee scored in a big 89-46 win.
Riley Meyerhoff had his normal “beastly” game with 12 rebounds and loads of hustle. Timmermans had 16 points, 10 rebounds and five blocked shots. Rheyden Le, Graeme Trask and Aidan Bernard all had great plus/minus games.
Vanier finished strong with a 75-66 win over host Claremont. The Towhees had a comfortable 15-point lead at the half and were up by 20 before Claremont pressed and the tide changed.
Vanier withstood the onslaught and prevailed with a great fourth quarter. Leopkey-Johnson had 21 points and six assists while Le added 10 tough points and excellent defence down the stretch. Bernard added eight points and seven strong rebounds while Meyerhoff cleared 11 important boards.
