The strength of the double A division in B.C. high school boys' basketball was showcased at the Killarney Cougar Classic tournament this past weekend.
Both the New Westminster Hyacks and the former No. 1-ranked AA St. Thomas More Knights both became victims of the No. 5-ranked West End Vancouver high school.
The Knights, who enjoyed just one week at the top of the pack before tumbling into third place last week, lost to King George 69-68 on a buzzer-beater in the opening game of the East Vancouver competition on Jan. 18.
New Westminster had made an even stronger case for wanting to beat the Dragons following a 78-66 loss to the inner-city school team in the final of the G.P. Vanier Towhee tournament just the weekend before.
But for all that, the Hyacks played a rather uninspired second-round match against King George, falling 70-56 last Thursday.
"We didn't come with fire," said New West head coach John Doughty. "We thought this game might mean something. But we just thought about it. They (King George) did too, but they meant it."
King George opened the contest on a 10-0 run and built a 41-23 advantage at halftime after a 27-point second quarter.
The Hyacks cut the deficit to 10 points at one stage of the final frame but King George went on an 11-3 run in the final minutes to hold New West.
Masood Walli led the Hyacks with 19 points, while the Dragons' Bristain Hilderbrant led all scorers with 23 points. King George forward Omid Toussi also helped out with 20 points.
The Dragons showed their finish at the foul line, nailing 14 of 16 free throws at the charity stripe. In contrast, New West made good on just eight of 17 attempts.
The Hyacks finished in third place at the Cougar Classic following a 70-54 win over Hugh Boyd.
STM took fifth place with a 78-53 victory over Windermere.
New Westminster has two big games coming up in league play, including back-to-back matchups at Burnaby South and Byrne Creek on Jan. 30 and Feb. 1, respectively.
STM takes on St. Patrick's on Wednesday.
