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| A strong start for Charles Hays on day one, but by the final whistle it was Vancouver Island's Brentwood College with the win (screen grab from TFSE stream) |
The icebreaker matchup for Charles Hays had the Rainmakers taking on the Brentwood College squad and for the first fifteen minutes of play, a blueprint from 2020 seemed to be developing as the Rainmakers took early control of the contest.
The early flow giving thoughts to a reprise of the last time the two teams met in a high stakes game which saw the Rainmakers push past the Vancouver Island team in the semi final in 2020, completing that Provincials tournament by coming home with a banner.
Four years later, a very strong start by the Rainmakers put Brentwood College on notice that the first round play would be tough and to give a glance back towards their shared history.
For a quarter and a half yesterday at the Langley Events Centre, the Rainmakers shots found their mark, the defensive work stellar; the play making for a physical game with the Makers' giving as good as they received.
It was only the success on the boards, at both ends for Brentwood that kept them close in the early going, a few Rainmaker turnovers also making for some room to get back into the game.
The Vancouver Island side rebounded from the early deficit to pull within one point of a 17-16 Rainmaker lead in the first quarter, building on that momentum, they had a 35-31 lead by halftime.
The break in play provided Brentwood an opportunity to review and adjust their game plan and they came out in the third ready to take the game away from the Rainmakers.
Foul Trouble early on for the Rainmakers and some suddenly cold shooting provided the opening for the highly touted Vancouver Island team to build up a sizeable lead, the Makers unable to answer the scoring push until just after the five minute mark of the third frame.
A late quarter push by the Charles Hays boys provided a spark towards thoughts of a comeback, but a key time out called by Brentwood in the last minutes of quarter three, allowed for a reset again.
That gave the Vancouver Island team opportunity to shut down any thoughts of rebellion from the Makers, taking a 61-44 lead into the final quarter.
The fourth quarter saw the Rainmakers begin to press again, looking for three point shots that didn't drop, the urgency of their play leading to a number of turnovers. On the side of the court the strong Board work again benefited Brentwood, which gave up few second chances in their own end and made for extra opportunity in the Charles Hays end.
The final five minutes brought a ball control display from Brentwood, that shut down any scoring opportunities, securing their advance from the tournament opener with a final score of 82-54.
On the day, the Rainmakers spread much of their scoring around to a number of players familiar from the stats of the regular season and Zones, while the Brentwood attack was led by a name to watch for as the tournament moves forward.
Milan Pasquale, who comes from a long line of Canadian Basketball high performers, accounted for 32 of the Brentwood points. His strong play both on offence and defence one of the key factors in the Rainmaker frustrations on the day.
From Wednesday's play the Rainmakers now move to the B side of the event, and look to secure a high placement in the final standings from Provincials 2024.
The next play at noon today when they take on Archbishop Carney from Port Coquitlam.
The other representative from west of Prince George, Nechako Valley also had a rough day of it Wednesday, dropping a 63-44 decision to the top ranked Pacific Academy.
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In other Tournament play, Haida Gwaii's Gidgalang Kuuyas Naay had opening day 1A Tournament success, with an 83-64 victory over Duncan Christian.
They next play this afternoon at 5:15 taking on St. John's in the 1A Quarter Final.
Fort St James was on the short side of the scoreboard with Unity Christian, the final score 78-37, they next play today at 1:45 taking on Gabrielle-Roy.
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On the 3A side of Provincials it was a rough day for Caledonia from Terrace, they ran into a powerhouse squad in St Patrick's which dominated the game to a final score of 107-37.
Terrace faces South Kamloops in Day 2 competition at 1:45 PM
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Rainmaker fans can follow the Live streams from the tournament through the 2A Basketball Home page, which has a link to the Pay Per view options.
You can purchase one day access for 8 dollars, or 24 dollars for the full tournament package.
Keep up to date on the day's action from the 2A Tournament Social media stream
We are following the tournament through our archive page here.
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