Langley’s Credo Christian Kodiaks were ahead in the opening minutes of the final 1A provincial basketball championships against the Kelowna Christian Knights, but they were unable to sustain their lead.
For the sixth time in the last dozen years, the Knights are the champions, downing Langley 81-45 Saturday afternoon at the Langley Events Centre.
Aside from being down three points to Credo Christian in the very early going, it was all Kelowna Christian as they led by 15 after one quarter, were up 27 at the half and then cruised to victory.
Kelowna Christian was good on 32 of their 75 shots from the field, a 42.7 per cent success rate. By comparison, the Kodiaks struggled mightily, connecting on just 22.4 per cent (15-for-67), including 3-for-18 from beyond the arc.
Credo Christian was also coming off an emotional semifinal victory, one which required late-game heroics and double-overtime before they finally knocked off the No. 1 Glenlyon Norfolk Gryphons of Victoria 97-88. They also needed a stunning fourth-quarter rally in the quarter-finals, outscoring their opponent 36-6 to erase a 15-point deficit.
But a third consecutive rally was not in the cards for the Kodiaks who have now placed top five in five consecutive seasons, with two silver medals, a bronze, a fourth and a fifth-place finish on their resume as they search for the school’s first provincial basketball title.
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Indy Hallet, who sank four three-pointers and had 17 points, was named the Championship Player of the Game while teammates Colin Christophe – who led the Knights with 23 points – was named the Tournament’s Most Valuable Player.
Will Dykstra with 13 points and Gavin Grim with a dozen led the Kodiaks.
Knights have now won six titles – the most in the history of the 1A tournament – with the most recent title coming in 2016 and are 6-1 in championship games. They have also medalled in eight of their 15 tournament appearances.
Benson, who was a player on the first two title-winning teams in 2008 and 2009, didn’t know if one ranked ahead of the other.
“I don’t know if one’s better than the other, they are both awesome.”
In the third-place game, it was Highroad Academy defeating Glenlyon Norfolk
Fernie Falcons were named the Tournament’s Most Sportsmanlike Team and Glenlyon’s Chris Graham was named Best Defensive Player.
