Duncan Christian School’s senior boys basketball team was right in the mix to win the Nanaimo Christian Harbour City Challenge on Dec. 13 and 14.
The Chargers won two of their three games, their lone loss coming by the narrowest of margins in the semifinals.
After their 56-55 semifinal loss to Surrey Christian, the Chargers went on to defeat Nanaimo Christian 59-55 for the bronze medal.
“Very proud of our guys today,” assistant coach Arnie Hengstler said after the last game of the tournament. “They showed their potential in the first game of the day [against Surrey] — probably one of the best games I have seen — and their don’t-quit attitude and ability to not crumble under pressure in our last game.
“We played against a strong AA school [Surrey Christian] this morning and came within milliseconds of winning and then showed a lot of heart with an important player resting against a team that had not played today. Multiple comments were made by other parents and coaches about the sportsmanship we showed. I can’t be any prouder than what we showed today.”
The Chargers opened the tournament on Friday night by cruising to a 63-29 win over Campbell River Christian. Jordan Wilson earned Player of the Game honours by putting up 16 points, while Jameson Hengstler had 10 points and 11 rebounds, and Elias Floucault added seven points and nine rebounds.
The game against Surrey Christian on Saturday morning went right down to the wire. The Chargers were up 55-53, but Surrey hit a three-pointer with 2.1 seconds left. After a timeout, DCS moved the ball to Jordan Wilson at half-court, and he passed to Jameson Hengstler. Hengstler drove the lane and took a floater that went in, but the horn had sounded just as he released the ball.
Wilson finished with 21 points, Hengstler had 10, and Nathan Powell posted 19, while Floucault was named Player of the Game.
Nanaimo Christian went into the third-place game well-rested after not playing that morning, and the Chargers opted to sit Wilson, but still rallied to victory. Powell’s 17 points saw him named Player of the Game, while Hengstler scored 12 and Logan Jacobsen came up with 11.
