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| Make it Two Banners in a Row for the Rainmakers (photo from TFSE streamcast) |
The Charles Hays Secondary Senior Boys will be bringing home their second consecutive banner for the Prince Rupert Boulevard school's Gymnasium, claiming four consecutive wins at the British Columbia AA Provincial Basketball Tournament at Langley.
The much anticipated final brought the two favourites of the bracket together, with the Rainmakers tipping off against the King Georg Dragons at 4 PM on Saturday afternoon.
The opening of the Championship game coming complete with video profiles, flashing lights and a rendition of O Canada to signify that it was indeed Showtime in Langley.
The Makers' came out ready to play, keeping their opposition off their game and out of any kind of rhythm, swapping out strong defensive play, stellar board work and high energy offfense to build a strong lead of 21-12 once the first ten minutes were complete.
The Second quarter made for the best quarter of basketball for the Dragons who put up a strong challenge to the Prince Rupert Seniors, their push on offence, combined with some cold shooting for the Rainmakers brought the two teams to a 25-25 tie midway through the frame.
The surge by King George serving to refocus the Makers towards getting back in gear, with the Makers' grabbing the lead back late int the quarter taking a 29-25 lead into the half time break.
Returning from the short rest, the Rainmakers returned to their combination of strong ball control, wise clock management and a return to shooting form that saw success for their key quartet of Caden Pagens, Tyler Jones, Rylan Adams and Kai Leighton who all would find the range once again.
The distance on the scoreboard began to climb with the Makers holding a thirteen point advantage at midpoint of the third, the frustrations for the Dragons showing both on the court and on the sidelines as their expressive coach Darko Kulic drew a Technical at one point, sending the Rainmakers to the charity stripe to add to their lead.
Coaches Mel and Ryan Bishop had to give Kai Leighton a break in the latter stages of the quarter , as his game long battles with the Dragons Nikola Guzina found both players in foul trouble late in the third frame.
The subbing in didn't interrupt the Rainmaker flow on the floor though with Brendan Eshom stepping in to shut down the Dragons Big man, while Charles Hays pushed their lead to 47-39 by three quarter time.
The fourth quarter was all Rainmakers with Tyler Jones and Rylan Adams alternating with key baskets to build on the lead, each successive basket taking a bit more out of the Dragons.
To close the game out, the Makers showcased some strong clock management, their defensive play leaving the King George squad with nothing but perimeter shots, the misses gobbled up by the back court to ensure that there was no danger of any kind of comeback.
The punctuation on the night coming with a late game Leighton three to make for the final marker of the game that made the Championship final score Charles Hays 67 - King George 45.
The Boxscore from Saturday's Championship win can be explored here.
With handshakes and fist bumps complete, the awards were handed out, the first going to Caden Pagens as the Player of the Game for the Tournament Finale.
Other awards were handed out to Mel Bishop for his stewardship of the tournament champions.
Tyler Jones was named to the Tournament's First All Star Team, with Kai Leighton named as the Tournament's Most Valuable Player.
All that remained for the night were the Tournament Photos of the Champions and then the celebratory cutting of the twine, with Rainmaker Coach Mel Bishop making the final cuts to bring another basket back to Prince Rupert.
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| (All Photos from TFSE Streamcast of Saturday's finale) |
Those who purchased the TFSE Streaming package can review the game from the archives page, which will make the Championship run available for viewing through their On Demand Archive.
Fans of the Rainmakers will want to follow along at Howard Tsumura's Varsity Letters blog, which will be featuring not only recaps of all four Tournament finales, but some features of another remarkable week of High School Basketball in BC.
You can review the full week of the Rainmakers in Langley from our Archive page here.
More notes on the CHSS Rainmakers Athletic programs can be explored from our Rainmaker Archive.
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