The Terry Fox Ravens used a dramatic fourth-quarter comeback to snare bronze at the REB Invitational Jasper Place Basketball Tournament in Edmonton over the weekend.
A sluggish start left the Ravens down 10 points to Edmonton's No. 2-ranked Bishop O'Leary in the bronze-medal game.
"The starting five got back in the lineup in the fourth quarter and locked O'Leary down on the defensive end, giving up only nine points in the quarter," said Ravens coach Steve Hanson.
Grade 11 guard Andy Seo found his range from downtown in the final four minutes, hitting three clutch three-pointers to lift Terry Fox to a 68-64 win.
The No. 9-ranked Ravens were relegated to the bronze-medal game following a 102-87 loss to Harry Ainlay, Edmonton's top-ranked team.
"Ainlay came out firing on all cylinders hitting 5 straight 3's to open the game and build an early 23-10 lead," said Hanson. "Fox closed the gap to 46-41 at halftime, but Ainlay's relentless shooting performance couldn't be stopped."
The Ravens opened the tournament with a pair of wins over St. Mary's from Calgary and Toronto's St. Andrews College.
Grade 11 point guard Jomari Reyes was selected as a first-team all-star for his steady play while Seo was the tournament's hot hand, hitting 19 of 29 from three-point range. Grade 11 guard Liam Hancock topped 30 points in a pair of games with Grade 12 centre Matt Cooley dominating the boards in all four games, posting a double-double for points and rebounds in each game.
The Gleneagle Talons squared off with some of B.C.'s best to tune up for their home tournament this week.
The Talons headed to Langley last week for the Candy Cane Classic at Walnut Grove. Gleneagle knocked off the Cowichan Thunderbirds 60-45 and upended the Semiahmoo Totems 73-35 before losing 76-56 to the host Walnut Grove Gators, the top-ranked team in the province.
"I thought they played really tough and gutsy, probably the best effort we've had collectively in the sense of just trying to execute what we're supposed to be doing," said Talons coach Tony Scott.
The No. 3-ranked Talons wrapped up their weekend with a 64-53 win over the province's No. 2 team, Surrey's Tamanawis Wildcats.
"What happened with the rankings is we've been fortunate to move up because people above us have been losing. It's a natural progression, if you don't lose you stay where you are or move up," said Scott.
The Charles Best Blue Devils found their form in the fourth quarter to shade the Steveston-London Sharks 85-82 and win the Guildford Park Tournament last weekend in Surrey.
"We were down 20 points in the third quarter but came all the way back to win," said coach Sam Yu, who credits a pair of clutch three-pointers down the stretch from newcomer Alex McIntyre and the hard work of Grade 12 Hans Stander.
Graham Miller was named tournament MVP while Zach Allan was named to the all-star team.
Charles Best opened the tournament with an 83-46 win over the Edward Milne Wolverines from Sooke before knocking off Surrey's Johnston Heights Eagles 96-59.
The Centennial Centaurs were unable to hold onto the lead in a 59-55 loss to the New Westminster Hyacks. Grade 11 Alex Vranjes netted 16 points to pace the Centaurs who led by seven with five minutes remaining.
"We will learn from this loss," said Centennial coach Alan Kaselj. "We've got to learn that we have to put teams away when we have that opportunity late in the game."
The Riverside Rapids opened their senior AAA girls season with a 71-43 win over Gleneagle. Dani Angignani led the Rapids with 22 points while Vanessa Gee chipped in 14.
Riverside welcomes some of the province's top girls teams this week for the 10th annual Tournament for Emily. Riverside joins Terry Fox and Archbishop Carney in hosting the tournament that runs Dec. 19-21. The tournament - named after Emily Inglis, a Port Coquitlam girl who died of cancer in 2002 at the age of 12 - has raised more than $56,000 for Children's Hospital since its inception in 2004.
