The Vanier Towhees senior boys basketball team beat the host school 63-57 Thursday at the 4A North Island playoffs at Dover Bay Secondary in Nanaimo.
“Certainly a defensive effort for both teams,” Towhees coach Larry Street said. “Vanier had to key on stopping their top player Brad Lansdell, who earned a tough 24 points for Dover in their loss. Fortunately for Vanier, the rest of the Dolphins had trouble hitting their long threes in the fourth quarter.”
Scoring was evenly spread for the Towhees. Peter Greaves had 15 points and 12 assists. Grade 11 Logan Bell scored 14 points and led with seven rebounds. His cousin, Cam Bell, had 12 points and seven assists.
“More importantly, all the Towhees played tough defence which led to the win,” Street said.
The second game Friday against Nanaimo District Secondary School (NDSS) was a seeding game to determine first and second for the Island tournament.
The Towhees had a rough start, scoring just three points in the first quarter. The second quarter was better. Some important minutes by the bench brought Vanier back to within six at the half, 23-29.
The second half was back and forth until Nanaimo went on a 12-2 run late in the quarter. Sharp shooters Trent Johnson and Kwammi Robinson hit some open shots to pull away.
“But, as per most of the season, Vanier found a way to creep back, especially with better defence in the fourth, and came within two points at 63-61 with 13 seconds left on a Cam Bell jumper,” Street said. “Unfortunately, we had to foul to stop the clock, and the final score ended 66-61 for NDSS…Still, we think the Towhees are ready to do damage at the Islands.”
Greaves scored 19 points and 14 rebounds, and blocked five shots in Friday’s game. Logan Bell had a second great game in a row with 14 points and four rebounds. Cam Bell had 13 points, and led with eight rebounds and four steals. Macyn Leopkey-Johnson also played a strong game with eight points, seven rebounds, three assists and two steals.
The 4A Island Championships start Thursday, Feb. 20 at NDSS. Vanier’s first opponent will be Belmont of Langford, the third place team in the Island South zone. Game time is TBA.
