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Abby teams battle for provincial title

Five Abbotsford teams still in the hunt after day one of provincials
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Abby Senior's Chase Claypool drives to the lane during day one of the BC high school basketball championships in Langley on Wednesday.

Chase Claypool’s heroics extended from the gridiron to the hardwood on Wednesday.

One of the biggest upsets on day one of the BC high school boys championships in Langley came from his hands, after he drilled the winning shot to move the Abbotsford Senior Secondary Panthers on to round two.

Ranked 13th in the 3A, the Panthers opened the tournament on Wednesday against the fourth ranked Charles Hays Rainmakers from Prince Rupert. The Panthers were up 44-37 with six minutes to go in the third, and then hung on for the 65-63 win after Claypool hit the winning shot.

Claypool recorded 30 points, 14 rebounds, eight steals and six assists in the win.

The 3A has three Abbotsford teams in the elite eight and still gunning for a provincial title, as the Robert Bateman Timberwolves and the Rick Hansen Hurricanes also won on Wednesday in their opening-round games.

The Timberwolves, ranked seventh, took down Surrey’s Valleyview Secondary Vikes 62-59 on Wednesday to move on. Bateman was led by Nate Friesen, who scored 29 points in the win.

The third-ranked Hurricanes dispatched the Matthew McNair Marlins from Richmond 73-63 to continue their provincial title dreams. Manraj Benipal had a team-high 31 points, while Joban Pandher picked up 15 points and nine rebounds.

Over in the 4A tournament, the seventh-ranked W.J. Mouat Hawks took down the Cowichan Thunderbirds 90-83 on Wednesday to advance to the elite eight. The Hawks were led by Jas Singh, who dropped 30 points and Jordyn Sekhon with 20. Mouat shot a sparkling 49 per cent from the field in the win.

The defending 4A champion Yale Lions fell 64-54 in round one to Oak Bay on Wednesday, and the best the Lions can now finish is ninth overall. Lions guard Riley Braich had a team-high 25 points in a losing cause.

In 2A action on Wednesday, the 10th-ranked Abbotsford Christian Secondary Knights moved on to the elite eight with a 98-85 upset win over the seven seed H.J. Cambie Crusaders. The Knights came on strong in the fourth quarter, outscoring the Crusaders by 21 to win. Justin Van Dorp led the Knights with 27 points, while Levi Joose added 19 points and 11 rebounds.

The teams all returned to the court on Thursday night, but results were not available at press time. The provincial champions in all the tournaments will be crowned on Saturday.

Read the Abbotsford News online for updates from the event.



Ben Lypka

About the Author: Ben Lypka

I joined the Abbotsford News in 2015.
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