The MEI Eagles and Abbotsford Panthers both finished in the top-10 of their respective BC boys high school basketball provincial tournaments, which occurred at the Langley Events Centre on the weekend.
MEI finished the highest of all local teams, placing fifth in the 3A tournament.
The Eagles earned fifth place with a 95-92 win over the Byrne Creek Bulldogs on Saturday (March 11). MEI took over in the second quarter, outscoring the Bulldogs 27-13 and did not trail for the rest of the game.
Gabe Vig scored 32 points and both Ben Brandsma and Spencer Tatlock added 17 in the win.
The Eagles advanced to the fifth place game with an 81-61 win over College Heights on Friday (March 10). They also opened with a 93-88 win over the Steveston-London Sharks on March 8, but lost 83-76 to Dover Bay in the quarterfinal round on Thursday (March 9).
Vig was named a first team all-star for the 3A tournament, while Tatlock was named the tournament’s most outstanding defensive player. Vancouver’s St. Patrick Celtics beat Dover Bay 91-80 in the 3A final on Saturday.
The Panthers were narrowly beaten 83-82 by the Terry Fox Ravens in the 4A’s seventh place game on Saturday. The Panthers were up 42-33 at halftime. but the Ravens got back into the game in the third and the teams traded leads for most of the second half.
Abbotsford’s Hayden Sansalone scored a team-high 25 points in the loss. The Panthers also fell 99-64 to Vancouver College on Friday and 95-77 to Oak Bay on Thursday. The team opened with a 85-76 win over Heritage Woods on March 8.
The all-Surrey 4A final saw the Semiahmoo Thunderbirds defeat the Fleetwood Park Dragons 71-40. Sansalone was named a second team tournament all-star.
Also in the 4A, the W.J. Mouat Hawks placed 12th and ended the season with a 79-70 loss to Claremont. The Hawks fell behind in the third quarter and could not mount a comeback. Armaan Sandhu scored a team-high 31 points in the loss.
Mouat also lost 60-52 to Heritage Woods on Friday, beat Tamanawis 64-58 on Thursday and opened with a 75-47 loss to Fleetwood Park on March 8.
The Hawks were also named the 4A tournament’s most sportsmanlike team.