There will not be any representation from the Burnaby/New Westminster district at this year's B.C. AAA high school basketball championships.
The Byrne Creek Bulldogs, Burnaby South Rebels and New Westminster Hyacks all flirted with top-10 rankings this season but were upset by lesser-ranked teams at the Lower Mainland championships this week.
The latest casualty was Byrne Creek, which lost an all-Bulldogs' matchup to No. 9 Sir Winston Churchill 65-63 in overtime on Wednesday.
Byrne Creek were the victims of their own making, surrendering leads late in the fourth quarter and OT to the Churchill team.
But a fifth and disqualifying call on Wilson Anteros was a game-changer.
Anteros was whistled for an offensive charge that turned the ball over to Churchill in the final minute of play.
"It was a crazy call. If anything, it was a non-call," said Byrne Creek head coach Wayne Best.
Churchill took the in-bound pass and Nick Atwal drove to the hoop to tie the game 58-58 with 9.9 seconds left in the game.
Byrne Creek then turned the ball over at mid-court but were saved by forward Kennedy George, who scrambled back to make a game-saving block on Bojan Sever under the basket.
In OT, Byrne led by as many as five points, but left three points on the table following three-of-six free throws by George.
It was Atwal again who sank the dagger into the Byrne Creek armour, nailing a baseline three-pointer with less than 25 seconds left on the clock.
"The kids only want to learn lessons the hard way," said a disappointed Best. "Everything we talked about all year and these guys refuse to take that knowledge on and off the court.
"I'm sick to my stomach - to do all this and they do that."
Byrne Creek trailed 18-12 after one quarter but closed to within a point at the half.
The Burnaby Bulldogs then put together a 16-9 third quarter to take a six-point lead into the final 10 minutes.
George finished the game with a game-high 25 points, 13 rebounds and three blocked shots.
Glen Morgan played true to the Bulldog moniker, scoring 10 points, including back-to-back treys in the fourth quarter for Byrne Creek.
The Rebels and the Hyacks both exited the double-knockout Mainland tournament on Tuesday.
The Hyacks also bowed out to Churchill 88-66, while South was upset by No. 10 Point Grey 58-49 at St. George's.
New West were widely outscored in both the second and fourth quarters in a less than stellar outing for the Hyacks.
"We didn't shoot the ball well and didn't play very good defensively," said New West head coach John Doughty. "Their big guys hurt us and we didn't have an answer for it."
Churchill's Minday Minhas led all scorers with 30 points, including 15 in the third quarter.
Jesse Mushiana silenced any chance of a Hyack comeback, nailing 18 of his 24 points from under the bucket in the final 10 minutes.
New West had its moments, rallying from behind in both the first and third quarters.
Masood Walli nailed a jumper early in the second quarter that momentarily tied the game. Seconds later Manvir Gandham, with a team-high 20 points, scored on a transition basket to give the visitors their only lead.
