The Vernon Panthers were all business at the Corporate Classic.
The Cats won the 19th annual senior boys basketball tournament, hosted by crosstown rivals Fulton Maroons, dispatching the D.P. Todd Trojans of Prince George 69-61 in Saturday’s final.
Both teams advanced to the championship by going 3-0 in their respective round-robin pools.
Isaiah Ondrik scored 19 points in the final for the Panthers, who trailed 59-58 before going on a late 11-2 run to secure the title. Kevin Morgan and Zack Smith each had 12 points for VSS. Chris Magrath led the Trojans with 16.
The host Maroons finished seventh, winning their final game, 67-44 over Oliver’s South Okanagan Hornets. Van Kozak had 33 to lead Fulton, Nathaniel Foster added 18. Both teams were 0-3 in the preliminary round.
In the battle for third place, the defending tournament champion Westsyde Whundas of Kamloops downed the George Elliot Coyotes of Lake Country 78-62. Tyrelle Chadwich led all scorers with 26 for the Whundas. Nick Lafointaine had a dozen to pace the Coyotes. Each team was 2-1 heading into Saturday.
The Salmon Arm Golds got 15 points from Daniel Wyss and 14 from Alton Neid, both players hitting fours shots each from beyond the three-point arc, to defeat the Penticton Lakers 72-43 for fifth place. Both teams went 1-2 in the round-robin.
In games Friday, Vernon squeezed past Salmon Arm 79-72 (Ondrik, 29 pts., Liam Reid 20 pts.), and won the Battle of Vernon with a 78-64 win over the Maroons. Ondrik paced the Cats with 21 points while Smith added 13. Foster had 19 for Fulton, Kozak and Alan Bargaso chipped in 16 points each.
Fulton lost earlier in the day, 104-72, to the Coyotes, who had five players in double-digit scoring, led by 21 from Khayden Culic. Kozak, with 20, and Foster, with 17, led the Maroons.
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