B.C. high school boys basketball’s revamped tiering system has helped a pair of Richmond schools make long awaited returns to the provincial championships.
The McNair Marlins and McMath Wildcats both ended lengthy droughts with top four finishes at last week’s Lower Mainland AAA Championships at the Richmond Olympic Oval. Previously, these teams mostly competed at the top tier tier and had to deal with perennial heavyweights such as Kitsilano, Burnaby South, Vancouver College and St. Georges to earn a B.C. berth. Now with those programs at the new 4A level, advancing to provincials has become a realistic goal.
The Marlins made it happen with an 86-68 win over Byrne Creek, then locked up third place with an 84-79 triumph over McMath last Friday.
The strong showing capped what has been an impressive second half of the season for the Marlins. It all started with wins over three top 10 ranked schools to capture last month’s McMath Wildcat Invitational. They will meet Wellington next Wednesday (1 p.m.) in their first provincial appearance since 2000.
“I think we were lying in the weeds a bit and then everything came together for us at the McMath tournament,” said co-coach Jessy Dhillon, a McNair graduate himself who has been involved with the senior team for the past six years. “It’s really exciting for the school and a big boost for the program. We have really seen our fan base expand as the season has gone on.
“We’re hoping a lot of students will come out to our first game. (Laughing) it would be one fun field trip.”
The win over Byrne Creek saw the Burnaby school hang tough for much of the game until Grade 12 guard Royce Sergeant showed why he was the MVP of the Richmond league this season by dominating down the stretch. The three-year starter has been explosive at times, including 50-plus point performances against Palmer and McMath.
The Wildcats have been considered a solid bet to earn a B.C. berth since the start of the season but that hardly lessened the accomplishment, especially for veteran coach Jon Acob. After falling by 11 points to Tupper in the semi-finals, McMath had to get past league rival McRoberts last Thursday. The Strikers led much of the way until the Wildcats finally took over in the final five minutes and went on to win 65-57.
“You have to give McRoberts credit. I think they wanted it a bit more,” said Acob. “When we were down (in the fourth quarter) I think that’s when the guys finally realized ‘holy cow this is it for our season.’ I have eight seniors on this team and they didn’t want this to be our last game.
“We got good leadership in the huddle from Will Sherrett and Jason Roberts. They told the guys to give it everything they got.”
The Wildcats will open play at the provincials against Vernon at 6:30 p.m. next Wednesday
Meanwhile, another local school came up short in its attempt to get back to provincials but at least showed plenty of promise.
With a rotation that features only one senior on the floor for much the game, the Richmond Colts bowed out of the Lower Mainland 4A playoffs with a 76-68 loss to St. Georges. The intriguing match-up featured Richmond High against its former legendary coach — Bill Disbrow.
The Colts led for much of the contest until the Vancouver private school mounted a late fourth quarter run to take control.
The Saints still missed out on a provincial berth — falling 86-53 to Burnaby South in the third place game.
