Blue Jags Fall to St. Georges, Edge Brentwood to Earn Third at ISAs

                    Photo by Sarah Scully

By: Mike Edwards

The SMUS Blue Jags wrapped up competition at the BC Independent School Championships on Saturday at West Point Grey Academy in Vancouver. The Blue Jags were involved in two tight contests, dropping the first but coming out on top in the second thanks to a David Lee game winner with 3 seconds to go with the game tied. Despite finishing a very respectable third place, the Jags were nonetheless disappointed as their objective was to defend their ISA title.

First up Saturday morning for the Jags were the St. Georges Saints in the semi-finals. SMUS got off to a great start offensively, led by Jake Wilmott who went 3-for-3 from beyond the arc. St. Georges, however, was able to stay in the game thanks to a strong effort on the offensive glass. Max Pollen capped off the opening frame with a buzzer-beating three to give SMUS the 9 point advantage. Aside from Wilmott's 9 points, Pollen scored 8 and Lee added 5 assists to lead the team.

St. Georges came out strong to start the second, as their full court press lead to a number of transition buckets off of SMUS turnovers. At half time, the two teams were tied at 31. Jason Scully led SMUS with 14 points on 6-for-11 shooting.

The Blue Jags came out flying in the third, going on a 14-0 run prompting a St. Georges timeout, but the Saints rebounded going on a 15-0 run of their own to close out the frame. Heading into the fourth quarter the score was 51-47 for the Saints.

St. Georges didn't look back, carrying their momentum into the final frame and pulling away for a 78-61 win. For SMUS, Wilmott drained 7 three-pointers for 21 points and 4 rebounds, meanwhile Scully recorded a double double with 19 points and 10 boards.

After the tough loss to St. Georges, SMUS regrouped for the third place game against Vancouver Island rival Brentwood. Both teams got off to fast shooting starts, with Scully leading all players with 9 points in the opening period. At the end of the first, SMUS had a 22-16 lead.

After a 6-0 Brentwood run to start the second that tied the game, SMUS settled down and took a 39-32 edge into half time. Scully led the way with 11 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists, and Angus Catto added 6 points and 3 rebounds.

Both teams cooled off to start the third as SMUS and Brentwood played each other evenly for the majority of the quarter. Heading to the final frame the game remained tight with the score being 46-42 for the Jags.

After Brentwood erased the deficit early in the final frame, the teams went back-and-forth right up until the last few seconds when Lee hit the thrilling game-winning fade-away 8-footer with 3 seconds remaining on the clock. Brentwood was unable to respond, rimming out on a three-point attempt at the buzzer to give SMUS the 61-59 victory. Scully finished with another double double, notching 18 points and 13 rebounds in the tilt.

Despite Scully's two double doubles on the day, the Jags’ wing clearly felt that there were things to improve on. "I need to try to play more under control and limit my turnovers.” said Scully, "We didn't perform to our potential today and we have a lot of work to do to achieve the goals we set for ourselves."

 

The Blue Jags will next be in action Tuesday when they tip off their Victoria Tier 1 League regular season at home against Claremont at 7:30 PM.

Blue Jags Down Stags on Day 1 at ISAs

                      Photo by Sarah Scully

By: Mike Edwards

Jason Scully scored a game high 23 points and added 5 rebounds as the SMUS Blue Jags defeated the Shawnigan Stags Friday evening in their first game at the BC Independent School Championships at West Point Grey Academy in Vancouver. The Blue Jags are looking for the three-peat, after having won the tournament the past two years.

After back-and-forth action for the majority of the first quarter, SMUS pulled away late in the frame taking a 21-9 lead. Scully led all players with 9 points and 3 rebounds through one quarter of play.

The Blue Jags started the second period slowly shooting the ball, but good aggressive defense kept the Stags to only 5 points. At half time the score was 32-14 for SMUS, with Scully posting 10 points and Jake Wilmott adding 9 as well as 5 steals and 4 rebounds.

SMUS added to the lead in the third quarter, taking a 30 point advantage into the final frame thanks to a late and-one from Scully. The Jags coasted through the fourth quarter, keeping their 30 point cushion for a final score of 64-34. The Blue Jags defense was once again the story, as they totaled an impressive 22 steals in the game.

Aside from Scully's 23 point performance, Wilmott finished with 14 points, 6 rebounds and 5 steals. Meanwhile, Max Pollen chipped in 12 points and 3 steals. For Shawnigan it was Mostyn Findlay leading the way with 9 points.

Arguably the most complete performance of the game came from Matty McColl who led the Jags in rebounds and assists on the night, with 8 and 4 respectively. "I knew it was going to be a challenge matching up with [the Stags'] big men so I fought hard and I'm just happy to be able to contribute to a great team effort.", said McColl after the game.

With the win, the Blue Jags are into the semi-finals and will play St. Georges at 10:45 AM Saturday morning. This should be a tight matchup between two top teams with a berth in the ISA final at stake.

Blue Jags Take Care of Bulldogs in Exhibition

    Photo by Dave Edwards

By: Mike Edwards

David Lee made the most of his opportunity in the starting lineup Tuesday night, scoring 19 points in the SMUS Blue Jags' win over the Belmont Bulldogs. The exhibition game at the SMUS single gym was the Blue Jags' first test this season against a Victoria Tier 1 League opponent.

After a slow first few minutes of the game, SMUS picked it up jumping out to a 21-16 first quarter lead. Jason Scully led the charge offensively, posting an impressive 12 points in the opening quarter.

The Blue Jags took their momentum into the second frame, with two early makes from beyond the arc courtesy of Jake Wilmott. They didn't look back as they went on a 19-0 run that spanned nearly seven minutes. At half time, SMUS had a 50-27 lead over Belmont, capped off by a buzzer-beating layup from Lee. Wilmott had 10 points at the half, with Lee chipping in with 8 and Lucas de Vries adding 7.

It was more of the same to start the third, as the Blue Jags high pressure defence continued to create turnovers leading to fast break buckets at the other end. By the end of the quarter, SMUS had extended the lead to 37 points for a 70-33 advantage.

The Blue Jags finished the game off strongly in the fourth, holding the Bulldogs to only 7 points in the final frame. They were also able to keep their foot on the gas pedal offensively, to close out an emphatic 91-40 win.

In addition to Lee’s 19 point effort, SMUS received sizable contributions from a number of players. Wilmott and de Vries finished with 17 and 13 points, respectively. Meanwhile, Matty McColl put in a great performance of his own, hustling on the offensive glass and passing the ball which led to numerous open looks. Angus Catto also had 9 points off the bench including three triphectas. For the Bulldogs, it was Jackson Leeder leading the way with 17 points, and Nathan Zaragoza put in 12.

“We came out a little slow to start the game but in the second quarter we started playing our brand of hard-nosed basketball and it worked out well for us.”, said Lee of the team’s performance.

The Blue Jags will head off this Friday to the BC Independent School Championships, held November 28 and 29 in Vancouver. This is the first major date on the schedule for the senior boys this season as they aim to defend their titles from 2012 and 2013. Next week, 2014-15 Victoria Tier 1 League play gets underway with a game on December 2 at Claremont.

Senior Boys Begin Season with Annual Alumni Game

    Photo by Sarah Scully

By: Mike Edwards

The 2014-15 Senior Boys Basketball season officially got underway Saturday afternoon with the annual Alumni Game. Playing in front of a lively crowd in the SMUS double gym, the senior boys found themselves up against a very talented and physical alumni squad that featured some of SMUS’ top former senior players.

In the first quarter the Alumni set the tone defensively, holding SMUS to 7 points. Matt Rud (Class of 2014) scored 6 points to lead the Alumni to a 16-7 lead at the break.

The Alumni came out strong once again in the second quarter, stretching the lead to 16, their largest of the game. The senior boys battled back and came within two at one point, but the Grads staged a late rally and took a 37-29 lead into the second half. Jake Wilmott led all players at the half, with 11 points for SMUS.

The senior boys had a strong start to the second half, highlighted by a Liam Catto and-one that cut the lead down to one. But the Alumni weathered the storm and were able to keep a 5 point lead heading to the fourth.

In the end, it was great defence from the Alumni that was the difference maker, as SMUS was only able to manage six points in the final frame, and the Grads walked away with a 56-47 victory. Wilmott finished with a game high 16 points, meanwhile Jason Scully and Max Pollen scored 11 each. Scully also received Player of the Game honours. For the Alumni, as Jeremy Harris (Class of 1992) led the way with 14 points and Danny Boticki (Class of 1999) had 12.

“Lots of defensive attention from the opposition goes to Jason [Scully] and that will happen every game, so I just need to go to the open areas.”, said Wilmott of his 16 point performance.

Heading into the season, SMUS has the number one ranking in BC at the AA level. The senior boys are back at it this Tuesday for two home exhibition games at 4:00 pm versus Mt. Douglas and 7:15 pm versus Belmont. Following that the team will head off to the BC Independent School Championships on November 28 and 29 in Vancouver.