Senior Girls Basketball
The SMUS Senior Girls Basketball season got under way this past week. In league action, the Blue Jags made quick work of Belmont, winning easily 75-32. All players contributed, with Avery Geddes leading all scorers with 30 points. Charlie Anderson chipped in with 12 points and Olivia Pickering added 11.
The Victoria Christmas tournament held over the past weekend provided an excellent opportunity for SMUS to get an early-season measure against some of BC’s best teams. The opening-round matchup saw the Blue Jags in a hotly contested battle with the Harry Ainlay Titans of Edmonton. SMUS maintained a six-point lead for much of the game until the closing minutes, as the Titans made an end-of-game push. The Blue Jags held on to win 40-39. The low-scoring affair was a defensive battle with neither team shooting a strong percentage. Maddy Albert led the way for SMUS with 12 points and 13 rebounds.
In the semifinal, SMUS faced the Riverside Rapids, the top-ranked 4A team in BC. After a solid first half, which saw the Jags trailing 38-31 at the break, the wheels came off defensively as the Rapids went on a 16-7 run to widen the gap. SMUS went on to lose 83-57.
In its final game of the tournament, SMUS faced Seaquam, another strong 4A team. A similar storyline would evolve in this game, with the Blue Jags playing a solid first half, leading 26-21 at the break. A poor third-quarter defensive effort resulted in a 34-point quarter for Seaquam. The final score was 65-46 in favour of the Lower Mainland squad.
“There is lots to build on in this early phase of the season,” says SMUS Head Coach Lindsay Brooke. “Maddy Albert and Olivia Pickering were bright lights for the squad this weekend. We have another big opportunity at the TBI this week in Langley.”
The Blue Jags open the prestigious TBI against Okanagan Mission Secondary on Wednesday at 7:45 pm. All tournament games will be livestreamed on tfsetv.ca.
Senior Boys Basketball
After a late start to try-outs and practices due to the success of the school’s soccer and volleyball teams, the SMUS Senior Boys tipped off their season this past week in the Tsumura Basketball Invitational tournament at the Langley Events Centre.
The Blue Jags dropped their first three games at the LEC before rebounding with an impressive 77-52 win over GW Graham on Saturday. SMUS overcame an 11-point deficit at the half to blow out the Grizzlies with a sterling second-half performance. Zaki Pelyhe was player of the game for the Jags with 17 points while Davis Hardy added 14.
SMUS opened the tournament on Wednesday with a 74-61 loss to the Sullivan Heights Stars. Damon Bains was player of the game for SMUS with 16 points while Hardy had 14. In their second game, the Blue Jags went to overtime before falling 68-65 to the South Delta Sun Devils. Lincoln Faulkner was player of the game in that one with a 27-point effort.
In their third game of the 16-team draw, the Blue Jags lost 65-61 to the Steveston-London Sharks. Faulkner was again player of the game with 19 points.
The Senior Boys play their first local games with a pair of Lower Island 2A League contests this Tuesday at Glenlyon-Norfolk School and Wednesday at home against St. Andrew’s. Both games tip-off at 7:30 pm.
SMUS will challenge itself at another top-notch event this coming weekend, playing in the Gary Taylor Invitational at Oak Bay. The Blue Jags open the tournament against Burnaby’s St. Thomas More Knights (ranked No. 9 in 3A), a team that finished second in the same TBI Select 16 tournament that SMUS played in last week. That opening-round game goes Thursday at 12:45 pm.
Junior Girls Basketball
The Junior Girls opened their Lower Island league schedule with a 58-14 home win over Belmont on Tuesday. Indigo Edgington led the Blue Jags with 24 points while Elspeth Rodger had 14 and Mya Beare added 12.
The team didn’t play over the past weekend. The Blue Jags have a league game on Tuesday at Lambrick Park (4:15 pm) before they travel to the Lower Mainland for the Charles Best tournament this Friday and Saturday.
Junior Boys Basketball
It was another busy week for the Junior Boys Basketball team, with the Junior Jags playing two league games and then three more times in the weekend ISAA Tournament at Brentwood College.
Despite a depleted roster due to illness and injury, SMUS went 4-1 in those five games to push its record on the season to 8-2. In league action, the Jags edged Belmont 67-64 at home before downing Pacific Christian 61-50 on the road.
SMUS spotted an athletic Belmont lineup a 40-28 halftime lead before roaring back to win the game on a late clutch three from Dani Pelyhe, who led the Jags with 27 points, and Parker Sheehan’s three-for-four showing at the line during the final minute. Jaiden Daniels added 15 points in the win while Quinn McMeekin had 14.
The Jags roared out to an early 20-4 lead at PCS before allowing the Pacers to make it a closer game. Pelyhe again led SMUS with 19 points. Forwards Eliot Tait (13) and Daniels (12) also contributed with scoring and controlled the boards.
On the weekend, SMUS captured the bronze medal in the six-team ISAA Junior Tournament at Brentwood College. The Jags opened with a 58-48 win over Shawnigan Lake School as player of the game Tait led the way with 18 points and Sheehan had 10. The undermanned Jags struggled against the pressure of Collingwood to start their second game, falling behind by 18 at the half before rallying to make it a single-digit game in the fourth quarter against BC’s third-ranked junior team. Pelyhe had 19 points in the loss while Tait added 14.
The loss to tournament-champion Collingwood meant SMUS fell to the third-place game on Saturday. In that contest, the Jags turned in a dominant performance, beating Surrey’s Southridge Storm 85-30 as every Blue Jag hit the scoresheet. Will Bateson was player of the game for SMUS with 13 points while Pelyhe had 15, Daniels 12 and Sheehan 10.
The Junior Jags have two more league games this week at Spectrum on Tuesday (4:15 pm) and home vs. Lambrick Park on Wednesday (7:15 pm). The team also plays in the junior portion of the Gary Taylor Tournament at Oak Bay, meeting highly regarded Pacific Academy in a first-round game on Thursday at 2:30 pm.
Grade 9 Boys Basketball
The Grade 9 Boys played twice last week, losing 44-39 to Stelly’s at home and falling 51-26 at Esquimalt. The team will host St. Andrew’s on Monday, December 11 at 5:45 pm.
Senior B Boys Basketball
The Senior B Boys Basketball team defeated Victor Brodeur 83-43 last week before losing 74-60 to Brookes Westshore. The team hosts Belmont B on Monday, December 11 at 7:30 pm.
