They’re still one game away from doing what no other Okanagan team has done in the 71-year history of the B.C. high school 4A boys basketball tournament, but the Kelowna Owls looked every bit like champions on Friday in Langley.
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For one of the rare times this season against a B.C. team, the No. 1-seed Owls were pushed to the limit — by Langley’s Walnut Grove Gators in front of partisan crowd of about 3,000 at the Langley Events Centre — only to respond with a stifling defence, their signature athleticism and steel-like composure to record an 86-71 semifinal victory.
The comeback win earned the still unbeaten (22-0 in B.C.) a berth in the championship game on Saturday (8:15 p.m.) against the No. 3-ranked Tamanawis Wildcats of Surrey, who advanced to the final with an 82-81 semifinal win over the No. 7 W.J. Mouat Hawks of Abbotsford.
Trailing by five points with 8:02 remaining in regulation time, the Kelowna Secondary School representatives were sparked by three consecutive three-point baskets — two by player-of-the-game Mason Bourcier, and one by Davide Ciancio.
Less than two minutes later, the Okanagan champs — looking to be the first Valley team ever and the lone B.C. Interior squad since the Duchess Park Condors of Prince George in 1980 — were up 70-64 and in control.
Bourcier, a Grade 11 starter, who led the Owls with 19 points and 11 rebounds, said he could see the sudden KSS explosion had stunned the game Gators.
“They (Walnut Grove) sagged for sure. You could see it in their body language,” said Bourcier, who along with Nav Sandhu (13 points) hit for three treys on the night. “Then, as a team, we stepped it up another notch . . . and it was all over.”
That Bourcier and Ciancio, a non-starter and usually the first or second man off the bench, were able to ignite a star-studded Owls team is a testament to the KSS depth and multi-dimensional attack.
“It really is amazing how these guys are able to play as a team despite so many of them having such individual talent,” said head coach Harry Parmar. “That showed tonight. We had guys who were struggling a bit, but then others picked up the slack.”
Parmar made a point of praising the contribution of Ciancio, who finished with 12 points, and more importantly, injected some last-gasp enthusiasm to the Owls.
“Davide stepped in during a timeout to get the guys fired up and then went out and sparked us with five quick points. The guys couldn’t help but follow his example.”
Ciancio admitted he was “mad” at seeing his team fall behind in the third quarter.
“We just needed to get our energy back,” said the Grade 12 guard. “I just kept on saying ‘there’s no way we’re going to lose tonight’. I guess the guys got the message because they went out and showed who’s tougher. When it came down to it, we showed our passion and composure. That was the difference.”
KSS assistant coach, Brad Heuser, a member of the Owls in the ’70s, said that although he’s seen some tremendous games by the team this season, he was still amazed at the way the Black and Gold responded to adversity in front of the large pro-Langley crowd at the LEC.
“We really had good momentum early, but when a team like Walnut Grove makes a push like they did, it’s easy to feel sorry for yourself and lose your focus. But, while we were definitely floundering, the guys were able to re-establish the momentum. To do it the way they did was something special.”
Grant Shephard and Parker Simson contributed 16 points in a game that saw the Owls leading 25-18 at the quarter and 45-31 at the half — before a gritty comeback by the No. 5-ranked Gators in a third quarter that saw the Fraser Valley team outscore the Owls 28-10.
Meanwhile, Walnut Grove head coach, George Bergen, who lost big starting forward, Brett Christensen, early in the first quarter to an ankle injury, said the Owls tired out his team down the stretch.
“We wanted to keep them from driving to the rim and not give them layups, but rather make them shooters. It worked for awhile, but give Kelowna credit. They just keep coming in waves.”
While Parmar was pleased with the win against “a good team that forced us to step it up and play better than we did in the first two games (of the tournament)”, he believes the Owls will need an even better game in the final.”
“That Tamanawis (Wildcats) team is a quick and up-and-down team like us, and after their big win tonight (Friday), they’ve got a lot of momentum as well. It will be a great game.
Tamanawis coach, Mike McKay, said his team will be ready, but he also knows his Wildcats will have to have the game of their lives to pull off an upset against a favoured Owls team that went wire-to-wire as the No. 1-ranked team in the province.
“We’re not delusional,” conceded McKay to The Province reporter Howard Tsumura. “We know we’re not going to beat them in a best-of-five or a best-of-seven series, but we’ve got one shot and the guys have been working for it all season, so we’ll see what happens tomorrow (Saturday).”
