On the eve of Valentine’s Day, the New Westminster Hyacks senior boys put their heart and soul into starting the Lower Mainland 4-A basketball championships off on the right foot.
On the strength of a big third quarter, the Hyacks did just that and powered past the Eric Hamber Griffins 90-64 on Tuesday.
Fresh off of finishing third in the Burnaby-New West league playoffs, New West found themselves in a tough battle against the No. 12-seeded Griffins, who grabbed a brief five-point lead.
The Hyacks battled back, and, after pulling even before halftime, surged ahead in the third quarter. They held Hamber to just 23 points over the final 20 minutes.
“We came out (of the half) and quickly grabbed a seven-point lead, and I could see my guys’ shoulders get up and their chins get higher,” noted New West coach Arno Richter. “We made some changes defensively and put a clamp on (Hamber’s shooters) and they sort of lost steam.”
Klyde Macahilo scored a game-high 19 points, while Manraj Phangura counted 14 points and 14 rebounds. Also contributing 14 points was Ramadan Ali, who looked well-recovered from an ankle sprain that limited him over the previous six weeks.
“He was playing well, he was composed and limiting the turnovers,” said Richter. “I was really happy with the whole team’s performance. … (Luka Cuk) is just so steady for us, and our four-five guys (Phangura and Paul Richter) had good games with high digit rebounding. (David Arciaga) came off the bench and gave us great defence.”
Unfortunately, New West were unable to contain St. George’s and dropped their second game, 101-81 on Wednesday.
New West was right at the Saints’ heels in the first half, trailing 44-39 by the break. But the Vancouver school exploded for 37 points in the third quarter to take an 81-53 lead into the final frame.
The senior boys now face a familiar rival, Burnaby Mountain, on Friday, 8 p.m. at Kitsilano, in a must-win contest.
The New West senior girls bested Handsworth 60-51 on Tuesday to advance to tonight’s (Thursday) Lower Mainland semifinal, 6:35 p.m. against Argyle at Carson Graham.
For the first time this season, the Hyacks appeared in the provincial rankings, listed as an honourable mention after posting a 27-2 record. A win would put New West into Saturday’s championship final, 7:30 p.m. at Carson Graham.
