After an impressive opening day at the G.W. Graham Basketball Tournament in Chilliwack, the Southridge Storm’s senior boys team was stopped one game short of the championship game.
The Storm, fourth in B.C. AA rankings, were beat 79-54 in semifinals Friday by the Mission Roadrunners, also one of the province’s top-ranked clubs.
“The differences in the game were an inability of (our team) to rebound with the bigger Mission players, and a lack of focus after the emotional victory over G.W. Graham Thursday night,” said Southridge coach Steve Anderson in an email.
Won Mo Koo led the Storm with 16 points and six rebounds, and Shahbaj Dhillon added 10 points and five boards.
A day prior to the semifinal loss, Southridge opened the tournament Thursday with a 73-59 win over Princess Margaret, and followed up later that day with a 64-62 comeback win over the hosts from G.W. Graham – one of Southridge’s biggest rivals.
In that game, Southridge fell behind early, but stormed back to lead by six at halftime – and by as many as 12 in the fourth quarter – but Graham battled back, tying the score with four minutes to play.
However, thanks to what Anderson called “clutch defensive plays down the stretch,” and a handful of free throws, the Storm escaped with the win.
Southridge’s Justin Bhuttar was named player of the game against G.W. Graham, while point guard Jonathan Yu earned the same honour in the win over Princess Margaret.
