Photo by Mike Edwards
By: Mike Edwards
The SMUS Blue Jags opened the Brentwood College ‘Countdown
to the Playoffs’ Tournament Friday with two wins in convincing fashion over the
Parkland Panthers and Mark Isfeld Ice. The Blue Jags were once again without
leading scorer Jason Scully, but put together two complete performances to earn
a berth in the Semi Finals.
First up was a matchup with Parkland Friday morning,
where the team was also without Max Pollen in addition to Scully. The Blue Jags
got off to a rough offensive start, shooting the ball at only 25% from the
field in the first quarter. Good defence, however, kept SMUS ahead 10-9 after a
low scoring opening frame.
The Blue Jags picked it up to start the second, going on
a 17-3 run to begin the quarter. Grade 10 call-up Ben Keep from the junior team
provided an instant spark, canning a pair of corner triples to aid the Blue
Jags run. SMUS outscored Parkland 29-5 in the quarter to take a 39-14 advantage
into the half. Keep led the way at the break with 8 points, meanwhile Lucas De
Vries also chipped in 8 of his own. Jake Wilmott was close to a triple double
pace in the opening 20 minutes with 4 points, 4 assists and 5 rebounds.
The Panthers shot the ball better in the third, as the
two teams played each other relatively evenly in the frame. Heading to the
fourth, SMUS still held a comfortable 54-26 lead. The Blue Jags coasted through
the final period to close out the 72-33 win.
Alex Caton (10 points, 6 rebounds and 4 steals), De
Vries (10 points and 7 rebounds), Callum Montgomery (10 points and 5 rebounds)
and Graeme Hyde-Lay (10 points) were the high scorers for the Jags, meanwhile
David Lee picked off a team high 6 steals in the game. Aside from Keep's strong
game, fellow grade 10 call-up Jasper Bosley also put forward a great showing
with 9 points and 4 boards.
"It was a good opportunity for me." said Bosley
on being able to make an impact in his first game at the senior level,
"I'm glad to have contributed to the team's success."
Next up was a game with Mark Isfeld who had also won
their first game of the tournament earlier in the day against Windsor. SMUS got
off to a hot start, jumping out to a 20-8 lead through one quarter of play. Wilmott had 8 points in the first and Pollen – returning to the lineup after missing the first game – chipped in 6 for the
Jags.
The Blue Jags continued to extend their lead in the
second, outscoring the Ice by a whopping 25-2 margin in the quarter. The Jags
put forward one of their most complete halves of the season against a very
solid Mark Isfeld team, taking a commanding 45-10 advantage into half time.
Wilmott continued to lead the way offensively with 12 points, Caton
dropped in 10 points and Montgomery added 7 and 5 steals.
From there the Blue Jags eased through the second half,
as many key players received rest allowing the Jags bench to see the floor for
an extended period of time. SMUS finished off Mark Isfeld by a final score of
67-24.
Wilmott finished with 15 points before being subbed off
midway through the third, meanwhile Lee recorded 5 points and 5 assists
and Matty McColl secured a team high 6 rebounds for the Jags.
As mentioned, the Blue Jags' two wins have earned them a
Semi Final date against Belmont which will tip off at
10:45 AM at Shawnigan Lake School on Saturday. Following that game, SMUS will
have one final game on Saturday to close out the tournament, which they are hoping is the
Finals at 6:00 PM at Brentwood College.
“It's going to be interesting tomorrow with an upset in
the Lambrick Park game.” said Wilmott, referring to NDSS’ upset win over Lambrick
Park on the other side of the draw, “But it’s exciting to go ahead with a
chance to win the tournament.”
“Today proved we can play at an extremely high level as a
team and hopefully we keep it up.”
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