Blue Jags Fall to Bays in Police Tournament Final

                  Photo by Mike Edwards

By: Mike Edwards

One week after coming out on the short end of a close matchup with the Oak Bay Bays, the SMUS Blue Jags got a chance at revenge in the Victoria City Police Tournament Final. Once again, however, the Jags suffered a tough defeat at the hands of the Bays, dropping the contest by a final score of 63-55 in front of a boisterous SMUS faithful Saturday night. After the Blue Jags took an early lead, Oak Bay turned the game in their favour thanks to a 20-1 run spanning just under eight minutes of the first and second quarters that proved to be the difference. If you missed the game, you can watch it in its entirety on SMUSTube here.
 

The Blue Jags came roaring out the gate, opening the game on a 13-4 run. But Oak Bay closed the first quarter on a 13-1 run of their own to take a 17-14 lead after one.

The Bays added to their lead to start the second, extending the advantage to 10 at one point as a result of the aforementioned 20-1 run carried over from the first quarter. The Blue Jags battled back, however, cutting it down to 6 at half time thanks to a pair of Max Pollen triples late in the half. At the break, the Bays held a 34-28 lead. Jake Wilmott led the way for the Jags with 7 points and 3 rebounds in the first half.

The two teams played each other evenly in the third as Oak Bay had a slight 47-39 edge after a foul-ridden quarter. Oak Bay came out firing to start the fourth, going on an early 5-0 run in under a minute prompting a SMUS timeout. The deficit proved to be insurmountable, as each time the Blue Jags had a push the Bays had an answer. Oak Bay was able to maintain their lead the rest of the way to close out the 63-55 victory.
 

Pollen was the high point man for the Blue Jags with 13 points, while Jason Scully dropped in 12 and added a season high 17 rebounds along with 3 blocks. Meanwhile, Wilmott finished with 9 points and 5 rebounds, Graeme Hyde-Lay posted 9 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists and Callum Montgomery totaled 7 points and 4 steals on the night to once again lead the team in the steals department.

“Not unlike a week ago they were better over the 40 minutes. We had a disastrous eight minute window at the end of the first and start of the second.” said Blue Jags Head Coach Ian Hyde-Lay, “Give credit to the Oak Bay defence, but we shot the ball poorly and missed 14 free throws.”

“We set various targets and, without ever being in any kind of offensive rhythm, fought back to within four points on two occasions. The effort was certainly there and everyone competed hard.” continued Hyde-Lay, “We now have a solid practice window which we must use efficiently.”

Despite the loss, SMUS still finished a very respectable second place in the Police Tournament. Next up is a January 22 home exhibition against a well regarded Semiahmoo squad before a key league game five days later at Claremont.