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Langley beats Kelowna Owls for B.C. hoop crown

Walnut Grove Gators take 4A basketball championship in 78-65 tilt
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Walnut Grove Gators.

For three quarters, the Kelowna Owls gave the Walnut Grove Gators all they could handle.

The second-seed Owls led by as many as seven points in the first quarter against the No. 1 seed Gators in the championship final on Saturday night at the Langley Events Centre in the BC 4A senior boys provincial basketball gold medal game.

Walnut Grove would recover to lead by five at the half, but a buzzer-beating three-pointer at the end of the third quarter 含羞草研究社 Kelowna含羞草研究社檚 10 three-pointer to that point 含羞草研究社 cut the lead to one with 10 minutes to go.

含羞草研究社淚 think I said 含羞草研究社榳e are going to do the same thing we have done all year. And that means we are going to put out more effort in the fourth quarter and they did,含羞草研究社 said Walnut Grove coach George Bergen.

It also helped that the team switched to a 1-3-1 defence for the final quarter and the Gators would deliver the championship with a 78-65 victory.

含羞草研究社淭hat little zone, what it did was help us control Mason a little bit,含羞草研究社 Bergen said.

Bergen was referring to the Owls含羞草研究社 standout guard Mason Bourcier, who finished with 29 points and eight assists.

Bourcier would hit just one of six from beyond the arc in the fourth quarter.

含羞草研究社淭eam defence. We brought the 1-3-1 out 含羞草研究社 that is Bergen含羞草研究社檚 speciality 含羞草研究社 and it worked,含羞草研究社 said Grade 11 standout James Woods, who was named the tournament含羞草研究社檚 most outstanding player after 23 points, six assists and four rebounds.

He was coming off back-to-back 30-point games in the quarter-finals and semifinals.

The win was also revenge for the Gators after Kelowna had eliminated them in the provincial semifinals of the 2016 championships, on the Owls含羞草研究社 way to the gold medal.

And Walnut Grove含羞草研究社檚 Grade 11 players were also coming off disappointment last season, having lost in the junior boys provincial championship game.

含羞草研究社淲e had a chip on our shoulder and we put a lot of work in in the off-season, getting stronger,含羞草研究社 said Grade 12 guard Ty Rowell, who was selected a first team all-star. 含羞草研究社淪o winning means a lot to us.含羞草研究社

Rowell led the Gators in Saturday含羞草研究社檚 final with 31 points, seven rebounds and five assists.

The Gators two big towers on the inside 含羞草研究社 six-foot-nine Jake Cowley and six-foot-eight Andrew Goertzen 含羞草研究社 also came up big, especially on the defensive end.

Cowley was already dealing with a wonky ankle heading into provincials when he rolled the other ankle in the team含羞草研究社檚 first game at provincials. He didn含羞草研究社檛 see any action in Friday含羞草研究社檚 semifinals.

But he found a physiotherapist who was able to alleviate the pain enough to allow him to play. It was still so bad, that Cowley was grimacing in pain during the awards ceremony and when he hobbled to the ladder for his turn to cut down a piece of t net as per championship tradition.

含羞草研究社淭here was nothing that was going to stop me from playing this game today. My leg could have been broken but I was still going to play,含羞草研究社 Cowley said about his last high school game.

He was limited to six points but managed to pull down a game-high 16 rebounds, including 14 on the defensive end.

含羞草研究社淚t was a pretty surreal experience. I have been watching this tournament since I was a kid and it was just an unreal experience.含羞草研究社

Goertzen, also in his final high school game, came up with four blocks and was a presence all game down low. He also chipped in four points and six rebounds.

含羞草研究社淚 knew offence wasn含羞草研究社檛 my role today, I knew I had to step up on defence,含羞草研究社 said Goertzen, who was selected a second team all-star. 含羞草研究社淓veryone did their job.含羞草研究社

含羞草研究社淚t sounds so cliche, but I can含羞草研究社檛 put it into words. Growing up, we always came to these games and to be in the final and win the whole thing was so surreal. Just unbelievable.含羞草研究社

Brett Christensen chipped in with a dozen points, six rebounds and a block.

Kelowna had a great start to the game, scoring the first six points and leading by seven points at one point.

And for the first three quarters, the Owls actually led for 20:36 of the 30 minutes, with the Gators ahead for 6:05 and the rest of the time, the teams were tied.

The teams含羞草研究社 first meeting back in early December was a 21-point Walnut Grove victory, but in the previous three head-to-head games, the Gators have won by four, six and five points, respectively.

含羞草研究社(It is) extremely difficult, to beat a team five times, a good team like that is an extraordinary task,含羞草研究社 Bergen said.

Kelowna coach Harry Parmar said the Gators were a great opponent and full value for their victory.

But he also felt his team let too many opportunities slip away.

含羞草研究社淎ll game long, it was just the little things. We had things going and we would miss a rebound and let them get a run. Get things going again , miss a rebound, and let them get another run,含羞草研究社 he said.

含羞草研究社漈he ball didn含羞草研究社檛 bounce our way.含羞草研究社

含羞草研究社 Gary Ahuja (@garyahuja1)



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