The Highland Raiders junior boys basketball team won the Vanier Towhees Tucky Schellinck tournament this past weekend (Jan. 6-7).
Most of the members of this Highland junior team have just come off of a very successful sixth-place provincial finish in senior boys volleyball and have quickly transitioned into an impressive basketball team.
Coached by father and son coaching duo Murray and Adam Erickson this year, the boys are running a fairly tricky offence that proved to be too much for opposing teams. Game one of the tournament pitted Highland against the always strong Dover Bay team. Highland was lucky enough to have one tournament with 6’6″ provincial team player Nick Tancon. Nick will turn to the senior team once his eligibility runs out, but was still eligible to play junior this weekend.
Tancon was a force in every game and proved impossible for all opponents to stop. This is by no means a one-man team though, as the basketball IQ of the whole squad is high.
Highland led all game with an early 10-0 start, but with Tancon in foul trouble Dover crept back in and the result was a six-point Highland lead at the final buzzer. Bryce Marinus led the team in steals with his incredible speed and quick hands.
Trenton Cameron made some powerful drives, drawing fouls and scoring clutch free throws. Grade 9 players Jared Collin and Conor Luty had some really important minutes, each putting points up. This win pit Highland against host team Vanier in the semifinal match on Saturday morning.
Again Tancon started strong, but with some big defenders on the Vanier team, Highland shooters needed to step up. Sam Lewis had the hot hand, scoring four threes forcing the Towhees to step out to the perimeter more to defend.
This strong outside shooting allowed Highland the freedom to go inside or out. Aaron Simmonds had a great game; he was a tenacious rebounder, fighting for any loose ball, and scored some crucial inside points of his own.
The final was an all Comox Valley show. A strong Isfeld Ice team would be great competition for Highland, and these teams, along with third-place Vanier, will have some battles in the years to come, with some great talent on all three teams.
Highland started strong again, Marinus was back to play after missing the Vanier game due to soccer commitments. Tancon and Isfeld’s Cole Hutchings battled like warriors under the hoop and Hutchings ended up in some foul trouble, which gave Tancon more freedon inside. The standout in this game was Highland’s Alec Molander. He was a monster on both ends of the floor, blocking shots and making steals for the Highland boys.
The end result was Highland taking the Towhee tournament, with Sam Lewis and Isfeld’s Hutchings selected to the all-star team and Tancon clearly the tournament MVP. The first, second and third finish for Comox Valley teams shows great promise for local basketball.
“The Highland boys would like to thank Murray and Adam Erickson for all of the time they’ve put into both the junior and senior basketball teams. The work was clearly evident this weekend,” a team spokesperson said.
