Rainmakers Bounce to B side of Provincials following opening day loss to Windsor

The path to a repeat AA High School basketball championship for the Charles Hays Rainmakers is now closed, that following a Game One loss to the Windsor Dukes on Wednesday afternoon at the Langley Entertainment Centre. 

The harsh reality of tournament time and the need to win to move on arriving early for the Charles Hays team. 

A squad which started out strong in their tournament icebreaker,  but ran into some trouble as the game moved into the second quarter and the Windsor squad began to put some distance on the scoreboard between the two teams.

The first quarter break offered up hopes for a tightly contested game, with both teams knotted at 12 after  ten minutes of play, the opening period of play a case of the two teams getting the feel for how each would be playing on the day.

However the second frame of the match up provided for a burst of offence from the North Vancouver team who took advantage of missed Rainmaker shots and some strong play on the boards to build up a lead at halftime which saw the Dukes ahead 38-25.

The third quarter brought much of the same the Windsor boys taking control of the play, offering few lanes for the Rainmakers to make entry towards the basket. The Dukes made good use of the clock as well another contributing factor towards slowing any Rainmaker push.  

The success of that game plan was illuminated on the Three quarter scoreboard as the Windsor Team all but shut down the Rainmaker offence, with the North Vancouver side holding a 54-29 advantage heading into the final ten minutes.

The Final quarter saw somewhat of a push back from the Rainmakers as they took advantage of turnovers  and found some success on the boards, clawing away at the numbers on the scoreboard to reduce the spread to thirteen points. 

Though, with a refocus from the North Vancouver side for the final five minutes,  the Rainmakers couldn't dig deep enough into the Dukes lead to put the game in question, with the Dukes claiming the upset in Day One play at the Provincials.  

The final  of Windsor 66 - Charles Hays 53 making for the Rainmakers exit from the chase for a banner, making for a move to the B side of the Provincial tournament and more competition to come this week.

Kole Jones and Joseph Lewis provided for the bulk of the Rainmakers offence in the matchup with 22 and 15 points respectively.

Charles Hays and Windsor players and coaches bid their farewells after
Day One action at the Langley Events Centre
(from TFSE livestream)

The Rainmakers return to the court this afternoon at Noon Hour today when they play Southern Okanagan.

An account of the opening day showdown can be found from the Varsity Letters blog here.

Live Streaming is available through a PPV option, you can find and link to that and more tournament items from the AA Tournament website.

More notes on the Charles Hays sports program can be reviewed from our archive page.