The Riverside Rapids went home empty handed at the girls AAA B.C. High School Provincial Basketball Championships after a disappointing loss to Oak Bay secondary at the Langley Events Centre on Friday night.
The Port Coquitlam team fell behind early in the bronze-medal match, allowing the Vancouver Island school to take a 34-21 lead at the half. A strong effort in the final two quarters was not enough for the Rapids to overcome their opponents and the team lost 71-49.
Oak Bay dominated in the rebounds column, particularly in the early parts of the game and had no trouble putting the ball in the basket.
The previous day, Riverside bested Tri-City rivals the Dr. Charles Best secondary Blue Devils in the quarterfinal match.
The Rapids quickly took a 20-15 lead in the first quarter and built on it in the second quarter, ending the first half of the game up 37-29.
But the Blue Devils put up a valiant effort to try and close the gap in the latter half of the game, outscoring Riverside 18-7 in the third.
However, a strong fourth quarter from the Rapids enabled the team to hang on to the lead and win the game 64-57.
Both the Rapids and the Blue Devils had early wins at the provincial tournament.
Charles Best defeated Handsworth 62-50 in the early rounds, while Riverside took down Burnaby Mountain secondary.
Now, the AAAA boys B.C. High School Basketball Provincial Championships are set to take place this week at the Langley Events Centre.
Wednesday will see Port Coquitlam's Terry Fox secondary Ravens take on David Thompson secondary, while Port Moody's Heritage Woods Kodiaks are scheduled to play Sir Winston Churchill.
For more information about the tournament go to www.bchighschoolbasketballchampionships.com.
@GMcKennaTC
