Monday, December 10, 2018

Handsworth takes No Regrets, topping Rainmakers in tourney final

Two Rainmakers, Liam McChesney and Kai Leighton collected honours
named to the 2018 all star team for the Quinn Keast Foundation
No Regrets tournament on Vancouver's North Shore
Handsworth Royals topped the Rainmakers in the tourney final Saturday
(
photo courtesy No Regrets)

While Saturday evening's finale probably didn't go quite go as the team had hoped for, by making a run through the three days of the North Shore No Regrets tournament, the Charles Hays Rainmakers have served notice for the Lower mainland that they have plans in mind for Langley come March of 2019.

The first of a number of out of town tournaments for the Rainmakers put the Charles Hays program on full display with some high tempo basketball that captured the attention of those taking in the games in North Vancouver and West Vancouver.

The action which took place from Thursday through to the Saturday showcase saw one of the North shore teams claim the title with Handsworth topping the Rainmakers 69 to 59 in the tournament finale.

The path to the Saturday night game found the Rainmakers taking on some of the high profile teams of Vancouver area basketball, starting with an opening day victory over Seycove that set the tone for the Rainmakers as they came to the court ready to show the offence, overwhelming the North Vancouver squad 91-57.

Liam McChesney held the hot hand for the Maker's gaining Player of the Game status for his work on the court.

Thursday Recap

Friday saw the Rainmakers continue on the winning ways with a 71-65 victory over West Vancouver a game which exhibited the depth of the Charles Hays attack and delivered Player of the Game honours to Kai Leighton.

Friday Recap

Saturday morning, it was Vancouver's Kitsilano that served as the final obstacle to a tournament final berth and the Rainmakers took up the challenge, topping the highly regarded Kits team by a score of 66 to 55, a match which found Eric Lees tapped as player of the game.

Saturday morning Recap


The final pitted the Rainmakers against the Handsworth Royals, making their return appearance in the No Regrets tournament final and this time they were focused on claiming a title after disappointment last year.

Towards that goal some strong dedication to defence and slowing down the tandem of McChesney and Leighton proved to be the right recipe, with the Royals taking  a 32 to 23 lead into halftime.

A physical second half offered up some evidence of the Handworth dedication to defence and the frustrations that it provided for the Rainmakers, along with some timely 3 point throws that pushed Handsworth further and further ahead as the clock was winding down, holding off any Rainmaker pushes to the final buzzer and 69 -50 victory.

Saturday evening Championship Game Recap

As the tournament for 2018 wrapped up, two Rainmakers found themselves named to the All Star Squad with Liam McChesney and Kai Leighton adding to their basketball resumes from their strong performances over the three days on the North Shore.

Up next for the Senior Boys is their home opener at the Charles Hays Gymnasium this Friday evening when the Caledonia Kermodes come to town, the Rainmakers will return the favour with a trip to Terrace on Saturday evening.

The Senior Girls and Junior Boys were also in action over the weekend, the girls playing at home, the boys in Prince George.

For more items of note on the Rainmakers see our archive page here.

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