Now that was the McNair Marlins that began the season in the top 10 of the provincial “AAA” boys basketball rankings and gives opponents fits with their relentless defence.
The Marlins were firing on all cylinders Monday night in a dominating 107-73 win over the MacNeill Ravens to take a big step towards locking up a Lower Mainland “AAA” playoff berth.
The visitors jumped out to a 27-18 lead after one quarter and then blitzed the Ravens 30-9 over the next 10 minutes to take a commanding 57-27 cushion into halftime. They did it with standout guard Nathan Schroeder saddled on the bench for the entire quarter with foul trouble.
Any thought of a miraculous MacNeill second half comeback was quickly dashed when McNair opened the third with an 11-2 run.
Led by high-energy seniors Talvinder Jagde and Jovan Dhillon, the Marlins wreaked havoc on nearly every MacNeill possession with their swarming pressure.
“You look at the scoreboard and you’re down by 10. The next time you look up you’re down by 20,” said Ravens head coach Landon Dy. “It’s tough to come back against that and it definitely took the rhythm out of our game. When you break it, you can get off good shots, but it’s hard to sustain it.
“You have to give your props to McNair. They shot the ball well and they stuck with that pressure all game long. That team is good and scary to play against. They are long and lanky. They also work so hard.”
What also has to be encouraging for the Marlins is the emergence of secondary scoring.
Schroeder led the way with 20 points, despite sitting half the game, while Jagde and Dhillon combined for 19 in limited minutes. Tejvir Gill (19) and Harris Hamidi (17) had big outings, while Von Rosales chipped in with 13.
McNair looks to be peaking at the right time, having won the Robert Batemen Classic two weekends ago in Abbotsford, knocking off the No. 3 and No. 5 ranked teams en route to the title. It was a result that put them at No. 7 in the latest provincial rankings, yet their work is far from done.
Earlier league losses to Steveston-London and Richmond High put them in must-win mode Monday to extend their season beyond next week’s city playoffs. They host McMath Wednesday (7 p.m.) in another game with major post-season implications.
“They had their back against the wall and knew what they had to do tonight,” said Marlins coach Jessy Dhillon. “Usually they are goofing around a bit before the game but today it was only stone cold faces. It all starts with our defence. When our press is clicking, we can beat anybody. If we get the turnovers, we get the easy layups and the shots were falling as well.
“Melvin (Paningaban) and Harris came to play and gave us big minutes tonight. The third quarter we kept coming in waves. It was good to see.”
Richmond “AAA” Head-to-Head Standings
Top 4 Advance
*McMath 3-1
*Steveston-London 3-1
*Richmond High 3-2
McNair 2-2
MacNeill 2-2
McRoberts 0-5
*clinched Lower Mainland berths
Games Remaining
Wednesday, Feb. 1
McMath at McNair 7 p.m.
MacNeill at Steveston-London 7 p.m.
