A championship wasn't in the cards for the W.J. Mouat Hawks or Yale Lions at the AAA high school boys basketball provincials last week.
But both teams' rosters are laden with elite underclassmen, and they served notice over the course of play at the Langley Events Centre that they'll be among the best in B.C. next season.
After a disappointing loss to Point Grey in their opening game last Tuesday, the Lions finished strong, winning their next three games on the consolation side of the draw to register a 13th-place finish in the 20-team field.
Yale blitzed the Caledonia Kermodes 100-59 on Wednesday, and followed with a similarly lopsided 85-53 triumph over the Correlieu Clan on Thursday. They wrapped up the event with a 70-69 win over the Belmont Bulldogs of Victoria on Saturday.
Four Lions scored in double figures in the win over Belmont – J.J. Pankratz (21 points), Jesse Gill (16), Jacquin Bennett-Boire (14) and Abraham Falls (10).
The Hawks' championship dreams were dashed in the Elite Eight, as they fell 74-57 to their Fraser Valley East nemesis, the Walnut Grove Gators, despite 15 points and seven rebounds from Grade 10 centre Tristan Etienne.
The Hawks wrapped up the tourney with a pair of consolation-side losses. Top-ranked Kelowna, upset in the quarter-finals, took their frustration out on Mouat by a score of 75-56 on Friday. On Saturday, the Hawks were edged 66-60 by Surrey's Tamanawis Wildcats, as seniors Cam Friesen (15 points, 10 rebounds) and Jesse Coy (11 points, seven rebounds, six assists) wrapped up their high school careers with strong performances.
VALLEY DOMINANCE
The Fraser Valley zone proved once again to be the toughest in the province, as teams from the region swept all three podium positions at provincials.
The Terry Fox Ravens of Port Coquitlam won the championship, beating Walnut Grove 75-74 in a thrilling final on Saturday. The White Rock Christian Academy Warriors claimed the bronze, edging Vancouver College 96-95.