The Burnaby South Rebels placed fifth at the B.C. high school quad A high school boys’ basketball championships for a second straight year.
The Rebels earned their fifth top-five finish defeating top tournament seed Oak Bay Bays 79-75 in a battle of former provincial No. 1 schools at the Langley Events Centre on Saturday.
South dug a significant hole for itself after a slow 21-6 opening 10 minutes. But the Lower Mainland runner-up played the remaining 30 minutes like a different team, transitioning its way into the lead by the end of the third quarter against the Vancouver Island champion.
“It wasn’t about who we were playing, it was more about winning the last game and playing together,” said senior guard Tyus Batiste. “We came out slow that’s all it was.”
Batiste and tournament second team all-star Jermaine Haley caught fire in the second quarter, sparking South’s running game and scoring 10 and seven points, respectively.
Haley went on to score 24 more points in the second half to lead all scorers with 31 points. Nic Trninic and Batiste also made 20-plus-point contributions for South.
Last year, Burnaby South also placed fifth overall after a quarter-final loss on the second day to top seed Tamanawis.
This year, it was eventual third-place-finishing Kelowna that tripped up the Rebels 96-72 on Day 2.
“It hurt a lot. But we kept our heads up and still battled even though we weren’t playing for first anymore,” said Batiste, who scored 20 points or better in each of South’s four games played.
“It’s not what we wanted, but we ended up the tournament winning, so I’m happy,” Batiste added.
The following day, South bounced back to outscore Semiahmoo 96-88 to advance to the fifth-place game against the Bays.
Haley netted team-highs 36 points, 13 rebounds and five assists in the win over Semiahmoo. Batiste added 24 points and a game-high nine steals, while E.J. Mabone chipped in with 22 points, four assists and three thefts.
The Rebels carried that effort forward into their final game.
“When we play together, that’s when we play the best basketball,” said Haley after the final game.
Haley finished the provincial tournament with 108 total points, placing himself in the elite B.C. high school championship century club.
“Overall, this is just the beginning,” said Haley after the game. “This is the first of the games I’ll be playing for the rest of my life, so I’m happy.”
In its opening game, South outlasted No. 11 Walnut Grove 83-76 on Wednesday.
Haley led all scorers with 33 points and 11 rebounds, while Batiste and Mabone chipped in with 23 and 14 points, respectively.
Second-seeded Yale defeated Terry Fox 69-63 in the 4A championship final on Saturday.
Tournament MVP guard Jauquin Bennett-Boire scored a game-high 44 points and added 16 rebounds to lead the Abbotsford school to its third-ever provincial high school title in the last eight seasons.
