Senior Boys Basketball
The SMUS Senior Boys put together an impressive run this past week in the Countdown to the Playoffs Tournament at Brentwood College, making it to the championship game of the 16-team event before being stopped by a strong Westsyde team from Kamloops.
The Blue Jags, ranked No. 6 among BC AA teams, struggled against the size and physicality of the No. 4-ranked Whundas as they fell 84-52. Davis Hardy led the Blue Jags with 19 points in the championship game loss.
SMUS opened the tournament with a 78-27 win over Ladysmith on Thursday. Guard Victor Lee scored 22 points in that game while Brody Harris added 13 and Wil Woods had 11.
The Blue Jags earned two wins on Friday to move into the final. First, they edged AAAA Vanier of Courtenay 61-60 in a quarterfinal, getting 18 points from Grade 11 guard Dani Pelyhe and 15 from Hardy in the process. The Blue Jags then beat tournament host and Island rival Brentwood College 82-74 in a semifinal, riding Hardy’s 29-point performance along with 15 points each from Woods and Elliot Mairet. It was the second SMUS win over seventh-ranked Brentwood in two weeks after beating them in the Police Tournament final in January.
SMUS also picked up two Lower Island AA league wins earlier in the week. On Tuesday, the Senior Jags defeated visiting Pacific Christian 73-56. Hardy scored 31 points in that win while Mairet had 14 and Dani Pelyhe 11. On Wednesday, the visiting Blue Jags got 16 points from Lee and 11 from Harris in an 83-55 win over St. Andrew’s.
The Senior Blue Jags will wrap up their league schedule with a pair of games this week – travelling to Lambrick Park on Tuesday for a 7:30 pm tip and then hosting Parkland in another 7:30 pm start at SMUS on Wednesday.
Junior Boys Basketball
The SMUS Junior Boys Basketball team will attempt to extend its season with a playoff run this week as the Lower Island Junior Boys tournament takes place across the region.
The Junior Jags, who finished in a three-way tie for seventh in the 11-team Lower Island Junior league regular season, will face Royal Bay in a play-in challenge game on Tuesday at Stelly’s, beginning at 5:45 pm. A win would send the Jags into a Thursday quarterfinal against Claremont while a loss would mean the end of the season for the young SMUS team.
With the Island Junior Boys tournament being hosted by Brentwood College this year, only three Lower Island berths are up for grabs this week in what will be a hotly contested playoff tournament.
The Junior Boys played just one game this past week, falling 54-44 to host and undefeated first-place Claremont in what was a five-point contest late into the fourth quarter. Guard Alex MacKay led SMUS with 17 points in the loss while fellow Grade 9s Manav Kang and Aaron Williamson added 10 apiece.
Junior ‘B’ Boys Basketball
The SMUS Junior ‘B’ Boys completed their regular season last Monday with a 52-42 home loss to Glenlyon Norfolk’s ‘A’ team. Bek Farish scored 21 points to lead SMUS while Azaad Gill added nine.
The Junior ‘B’ Jags, who finished fifth in Pool A with a 2-5 record, then travelled to Esquimalt for a play-in challenge game last Thursday, where they fell 42-29 to the host Dockers to eliminate SMUS from the playoffs.
Senior Girls Basketball
The Senior Girls Basketball team was in action this past week with both league and tournament games.
In Lower Island league action, the Blue Jags beat the visiting Pacific Christian Pacers 62-51 on Tuesday. SMUS was playing with reduced numbers and the Grade 11 players got lots of opportunity for playing time. Isabela Herrera led all scorers with 20 points and Olivia Pickering had her first career triple-double (14 points, 15 rebounds and 10 steals). Mya Beare got hot from beyond the arc to finish with 13 points and junior call-up Linn Kuepper added nine points.
On Friday, the team headed to Surrey for the Tessa Tournament – a last opportunity for cross-over action against some tough AA squads. First up for the BC AA top-ranked Blue Jags was Pacific Academy (AA No. 6). Early offence by the Blue Jags thanks to some easy transition buckets led to a 27-13 SMUS lead at the half. Herrera led all scorers with 13 points while Pickering and Charlie Anderson chipped in 10 points apiece. Joss Olcen anchored the Blue Jags defensively, slowing the ball in transition and creating many loose-ball opportunities. She was named player of the game en route to a 47-26 win.
On Saturday, the Blue Jags squared off with BC AA No. 2 Holy Cross – a formidable opponent with a strong inside/outside presence. Sloppy defence and an attacking Crusaders offence created much trouble for the Jags. Down by as many as 20 points for stretches in the second half, the Blue Jags did well to battle until the final buzzer, though it would not be enough in an 80-62 loss.
With less than 10 games left in the season, the Senior Jags look to their final league game on Tuesday against AA rival Lambrick Park. The game is scheduled for 5:45 pm at Lambrick.
Junior Girls Basketball
The shorthanded SMUS Junior Girls Basketball team had a busy week, winning one close game at home and losing two in the Junior portion of the Tessa Tournament on the Lower Mainland.
On Wednesday, the Junior Jags went to double-overtime with local rival Oak Bay for the second time in four days, prevailing 52-45 over the visiting Breakers. Mikaela Dubé powered SMUS to the victory with 22 points and 14 rebounds while Kuepper added 16 points.
Kuepper scored 28 points and grabbed 12 rebounds as the Junior Jags opened the Tessa Tournament on Friday with a 50-48 loss to Johnston Heights of Surrey. SMUS led by nine points after three quarters but could not hang on for the victory.
In what would be their final game of the Tessa Tournament, Kuepper contributed 14 points while Dubé and Amelia Evans added 11 apiece in a 51-46 loss to Yale. Dubé also pulled down 12 rebounds.
The Junior Girls get a first-round bye in this week’s Lower Island playoff tournament. They will play host to a semifinal on Friday night at 5:45 pm, facing the winner of a first-round game. The Lower Island tournament wraps up on Saturday at Claremont.
The Blue Jags are already guaranteed a berth in the Feb. 14-15 Vancouver Island tournament as the host team. Three other Lower Island teams will qualify for the Junior Islands out of this week’s tournament.
Rowing
Twenty-nine members of the SMUS rowing team competed in the 2025 Kraken Indoor Erg Regatta held at Brentwood College this past Sunday, Feb. 2. Eleven SMUS athletes placed in the top six of their event including three who reached the podium with top-three finishes.
Mia Nadra of the SMUS Crew finished second overall in the Women’s Novice 2K event. Teammate Clara Curry placed third overall in the U17 Women’s 2K event, racing to a personal-best on her 16th birthday. Samuel Kreigler of SMUS finished third out of 21 competitors in the U19 Men’s Lightweight 2K.
In addition, Robyn Amiel, the assistant Director of Academics at SMUS, won the Masters Women’s A 27-plus 1K event.
SMUS competitive rowers were up against athletes representing 11 clubs from Victoria, to Nanaimo and Salt Spring Island in the Kraken Indoor event.
Other top finishers for the SMUS Crew included: Mangkorn Laororjpinyo, fifth out of 12 in the U15 Men’s 1K; Matthew Nacey and Mateo Laca Swets, fourth and fifth, respectively out of 37 in the U17 Men’s Novice 2K; Liz Hardcastle, sixth in the U17 Women’s 2K; Addy Newman-Ting, fifth in the U17 Women’s Novice 2K; Lucy Turnbull and Rowan Denis, sixth and seventh, respectively, in the U19 Women’s Lightweight 2K; and Mei Jiang, fifth in the U19 Women’s Novice 2K.
After eight weeks of indoor training, SMUS rowers eagerly anticipate returning to water training once the winter weather clears up. The SMUS Crew will open its spring racing season with the Elk Lake Spring Regatta March 1 and 2.
