Blue Jags Defeat Bulldogs, Islanders en route to Brentwood Tournament Crown

                 Photo by Mike Edwards

By: Mike Edwards

The SMUS Blue Jags entered the stretch drive of the South Island High School basketball season on the right foot with four strong performances in two days to capture their second straight Brentwood College ‘Countdown to the Playoffs’ Tournament title. The Blue Jags defeated the Belmont Bulldogs in the Semi Final before taking down the NDSS Islanders in the Final Saturday to earn the first place finish.

First up for the Blue Jags was a matchup with Belmont, which saw them get leading scorer Jason Scully back from illness. The Blue Jags came out with great energy defensively, forcing Belmont into 9 turnovers in the first 5 minutes and 13 in the opening quarter. The Blue Jags aggressive play gave them a 19-8 lead after one.

SMUS built on their lead in the second, going on a 17-2 run carrying over from late in the first to take a 32-10 lead. At half time, SMUS held a 42-17 advantage. Alex Caton led the way with 7 points at half, meanwhile Jake Wilmott, Max Pollen and Matty McColl chipped in 6 points each for the Jags.

It was more of the same in the third, as the Blue Jags were able to get quality looks at the offensive end while containing the Bulldogs to contested shots. After three quarters of play, the Blue Jags were up 58-25. SMUS finished off Belmont in the fourth, advancing to the Final with a 78-36 victory.

Liam Catto was feeling it in the final 20 minutes, dropping in 14 second half points for 19 in total to lead the team. The Blue Jags also received contributions on the score sheet from Caton (9 points), Wilmott (8 points, 4 assists and 3 steals), McColl (8 points and 5 boards) and David Lee (6 points, 6 assists and 4 rebounds).

With the win, the Blue Jags earned themselves a spot in the Finals against the NDSS Islanders. Both SMUS and NDSS played with good pace in the first, leading to a number of buckets in transition for both teams. At the end of one, the Blue Jags had a 14-11 lead.

The Islanders came out strong to start the second, taking a 4 point lead midway through the quarter. But SMUS battled back to retake a slight 31-30 edge at the break. Hyde-Lay led the way at half with 9 points and 4 assists, Pollen had 8 points 2 assists and 3 rebounds and De Vries added 4 points and 4 boards for the Jags.

The Blue Jags had a good start to the second half, creating separation from the Islanders thanks to a 10-2 run to open the third quarter. But NDSS responded to cut the SMUS lead to 43-38 heading to the final frame.

NDSS chipped away at the deficit in the fourth, coming as close as 4 at one point, however SMUS was able to hold off the Islanders to take home the Brentwood Tournament crown by a final score of 57-49.

Hyde-Lay was the high scorer in the Final, putting up 18 points, 4 assists and 3 steals. Meanwhile, Wilmott scored 5 points and hauled in a big 10 rebounds and Pollen recorded a team high in assists with 6.

"Overall, very pleased with the performance in the four games. We prepared well and competed hard." said Head Coach Ian Hyde-Lay recapping the tournament, "The Final proved to be something of a grind, but thanks to very good second half defence and some timely baskets versus NDSS, we scrambled our way home."

"In addition to the starting core players, others such as David Lee, Alex Caton and Lucas De Vries made big contributions to a successful weekend." added Hyde-Lay.

The tournament was a big step in the right direction for SMUS, who will now focus their attention to the remainder of the Victoria Tier 1 League schedule. The Blue Jags will look to ride their momentum into their next league date at Mt. Douglas at 7:30 PM on Thursday.