It was another day at the races for the Kwalikum Secondary School senior boys basketball team last Tuesday, as the Kondors ran to a 40-12 halftime lead and coasted to a 77-35 win over Ladysmith at KSS.
The win was the fifth straight to start the season for the Kondors, who were coming off the championship of the Highland Secondary tournament the previous weekend in Comox.
Anthony Crowther led all scorers with 17 points and was joined in double figures by teammates Ethan Christensen (13) and Kevin Sudyko (12) in the team’s first mid-Island AA league game of the season. Christensen added a team-best eight rebounds, matching game-high honours.
Bruising forward Ben Pakosz led Ladysmith with 13 points, all of them coming in the second half.
As they did in their season opener, an exhibition victory over Nanaimo Christian, the Kondors employed an intense defence that forced 37 turnovers and fuelled a fast-break attack that pushed the KSS lead to 61-18 through three periods.
More surprising for the undersized Kondors was the team’s 10 blocked shots, with Arne Olef’s rejecting five 49ers attempts and Sheldon Munroe adding three blocks.
Kwalikum is back in tournament action this weekend at the G.P. Vanier tourney in Comox, then returns to league play with a pair of road games, Tuesday at Cedar and Thursday at Port Alberni in what promises to be another up-tempo affair.
The Kondors will then host the popular annual Alumni Tournament Saturday, Dec. 17, at the KSS gym.
Kondors 77, 49ers 35
Ladysmith 8 4 6 17—35
Kwalikum 23 17 21 16—77
Ladysmith — Ben Pakosz 13, Doherty 7, Zunti 6, Godlonton 4, Graham 3, Yasar 2.
Kwalikum — Anthony Crowther 17, Christensen 13, Sudyko 12, Dixon 8, Volk 7, Munroe 6, Olefs 5, Vukovic 4, Akiyama 4, McKenzie 1.
Rebounds — Ladysmith 42 (Doherty 8, Godlonton 8); Kwalikum 40 (Christensen 8). Steals — Ladysmith 4 (Godlonton, Pakosz, Graham, Doherty); Kwalium 27 (Crowther 5, Olefs 5). Blocked shots — Ladysmith 1 (Zunti); Kwalikum 10 (Olefs 5). Turnovers — Ladysmith 37, Kwalikum 16.
Ethan Christensen of KSS swoops in for a shot as Ladysmith’s Brayden Zunti arrives too late during the Kondors’ 77-35 victory last week in Qualicum Beach. — Image credit: J.R. Rardon/PQB NEWS
