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| Everyone was on their feet at the Langley Events Centre on Thursday as the Charles Hays Rainmakers came from behind to move on to the Provincial Semi-Finals (Screen shot from TFSE streamcast) |
It was a wild night of basketball at the Langley Events Centre on Thursday night, as theCharles Hays Rainmakers took on a tough St. Thomas Aquinas Saints squad, a team that for a good portion of the game threatened to knock off the defending AA champions.
Thursday night's match up didn't appear at the start to be one that would pose much danger for the team led by Mel and Ryan Bishop, Charles Hays jumping out to 15-0 lead by the five minute mark of the first quarter.
The Makers making use of strong defence to keep the Saints to the perimeter and then snuffing out any additional chances off the boards; such was the flurry of Rainmaker scoring that the Saints required a pause to reset their approach, something that as the game progressed would deliver St. Thomas a remarkable run.
The Rainmakers began to see some of the dangers ahead towards the end of the first period, as foul trouble provided Aquinas with a number of scoring opportunities, the lower mainland team battling back to reclaim those first fifteen points, trailing by six at the end of the first with Charles Hays holding the 25 to 19 lead.
The Second and Third quarters were dominated for the most part by the St. Thomas Aquinas boys, as they were dropping shot after shot, the Rainmakers shooting hands suddenly were going cold.
The Saints taking their first lead of the night at the 7:59 mark of the second quarter, a hold over the Rainmakers that they kept well into the final frame.
To their credit, the Rainmakers didn't lose their focus continuing to remain within striking distance going into the half down six at 48-42.
The Third quarter played out much the same as that of the previous one, with the Rainmakers finding frustration in the offensive zone, the missed opportunities quickly turned back up court by St. Thomas which continued to build on a lead holding an eleven point advantage at 69-58 at the start of would be a frantic final ten minutes.
Whatever advice the team heard from their coaching tandem clearly resonated, as the Charles Hays squad began to make some important stops in their own end of the court, turning those around for scoring opportunities in the St. Thomas end, and after twenty minutes of dings off rims and bounces off backboards, the Maker shooters began to find the twine.
The come back came midway through the final quarter Charles Hays finally getting the lead back at the 6 and half minute mark when they passed the Saints by on the scoreboard at 70-69.
The push back from the Rainmakers clearly frustrating the St. Thomas boys, who in addition to suddenly going cold on the floor on scoring also began to give the Rainmakers more scoring opportunities through fouls, something the Makers gladly accepted and took advantage of.
By the time that the final three minutes of the quarter arrived Charles Hays was back in full control, using smart ball handling, slowing the tempo of the game down, working hard on the boards to dey second chances and making for impressive clock management
All elements that helped them to smother any thoughts of a rally for the Saints, with the final frew minutes a matter of closing the game out strong towards the 91-79 final.
You can review the Boxscore to a most fascinating game here.
The win moves the Rainmakers into the Semi-Final tonight, with Brentwood the competition.
The Vancouver Island team won't be an unknown challenger for the Maker's, their paths having crossed in the past at a number of Vancouver area tournaments.
Tonight's Tip off from Langley is set for 7PM
Rainmaker fans can access the streamcast of the tournament from the Pay Per View portal on the tournament website,
As well, Charles Hays is hosting a viewing party once again tonight at the Prince Rupert Boulevard campus, keep an eye on the CHSS twitter feed and that of the CHSS Rainmakers for updates on tonight's game and other notes from the tournament.
You can review more of the 75th Anniversary of the Provincials from our archive page here.
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