The SMUS Senior Basketball teams were in fine form this past week, with both Blue Jags squads capturing Victoria City Police Tournament titles on their home court. This marked the first time in the history of the high-profile tournament that SMUS has won both championships in the same year.
Sixteen teams, including some of the best in the province, took part in the 52nd edition of the three-day tournament sponsored and organized by the Victoria City Police Athletic Association and hosted by SMUS.
Senior Girls Basketball
The SMUS Senior Girls, ranked No. 1 among BC AA teams, were back to full strength last week and racked up four impressive victories.
The Blue Jags took to the court as the hosts of the Police Tournament, facing Mark Isfeld in their opening game. The Ice boasted an aggressive and athletic squad, but they would prove to be no match for the Blue Jags. Charlie Anderson could not be contained as she netted 28 points and added nine rebounds and 12 steals to lead the Senior Jags to a 60-33 victory.
In its semifinal game, SMUS would get a look at Southridge of Surrey, a BC AA Top 10-ranked team. Defensive pressure and a commitment to rebounding and pushing the ball in transition resulted in some easy offence for the Blue Jags. Anderson once again led all scorers with 28 points, shooting close to 50 per cent from the field. Olivia Pickering dominated the glass on both ends, finishing with six offensive rebounds and six defensive boards. A solid team effort gave the Jags a 62-34 win, setting up a final with GW Graham of Chilliwack.
GW Graham is currently ranked No. 8 among BC AAAA teams and the Grizzlies had defeated the Blue Jags the previous week on their home court during the Top 10 Tournament. Back at full strength, the Blue Jags looked to avenge that loss.
The final was a well-played game by both teams – competitive, with a high level of skill on display. Down 18-17 after a fast-paced first quarter, the Senior Jags made a few defensive adjustments to steady the ship and take a 36-28 lead at the half. The Blue Jags’ solid team defensive effort didn’t let down as they won both the third and fourth quarters to finish with a 69-56 victory.
Anderson led all scorers with 22 points, Avery Geddes added 20 points and six assists, Isabela Herrera Orduna had 15 points and Pickering contributed six points and 11 rebounds. Mya Beare and Mikaela Dubé both logged many minutes and pulled down seven rebounds each. “Overall, it was a fantastic team effort,” said Head Coach Lindsay Brooke.
Anderson was named the Police Tournament girls’ MVP, while Pickering was selected to the all-star team.
SMUS opened the week with a Lower Island Senior Girls league game at Belmont. With a 35-17 halftime lead, the Senior Jags cruised to victory. Many players got on the scoresheet. Most notably, Cate Pontefract finished with eight points and five rebounds, including many nifty post move finishes. SMUS finished the game with a 71-27 victory.
The Senior Jags have a break from league play this week and will turn their sights to the coming weekend where they will compete in the EmpoweHER tournament. Their opening round game is at 6:45 pm on Thursday against Maple Ridge. All tournament games will be played at Oak Bay Secondary.
Senior Boys Basketball
The BC AA sixth-ranked SMUS Senior Boys rolled off three consecutive impressive wins over the weekend to capture the boys’ title in the Victoria City Police Tournament, culminated by a 57-45 decision over Island rival and provincially ninth-ranked Brentwood College on Saturday afternoon.
Senior guard Davis Hardy, named Police Tournament MVP, scored 24 points in the final while fellow Grade 12 guard Jack Driscoll, with nine points in the championship game, was selected as an all-star. Grade 11 guard Dani Pelyhe also enjoyed a strong weekend and contributed 14 points in the final – a game in which SMUS was playing without starting centre Elliot Mairet.
To reach the final, the Blue Jags recorded an impressive 55-50 win over B.C. No. 3 King George of Vancouver in a Friday semifinal. SMUS jumped out to a 19-2 lead to start that game before the Dragons roared back to take a 38-31 second-half advantage. The Jags responded well to that surge and took a late 53-43 lead themselves before weathering another late King George push. Hardy scored 15 points in the game while Driscoll added 12, Dani Pelyhe 11 and Zaki Pelyhe 10 in a well-balanced SMUS attack.
SMUS opened the tournament with a solid 67-50 win over GP Vanier of Courtenay. Dani Pelyhe had 19 points in that game while Wil Woods and Hardy added 14 apiece and Mairet had 12.
The Blue Jags also cruised to a pair of Lower Island AA league wins last week. On Monday, SMUS beat visiting St. Andrew’s 80-29 behind Grade 11 guard Will Bateson’s 24-point performance off the bench. Victor Lee added 10 points and Brody Harris and Mairet had eight each.
On Tuesday, Zaki Pelyhe scored 31 points – including eight three-pointers – as the Blue Jags recorded an 82-57 road win over Glenlyon Norfolk School. Dani Pelyhe and Mairet added 12 each and Hardy had 10.
The Blue Jags will host an important league game on Tuesday at 7:15 pm against Lambrick Park. Both teams are undefeated at 5-0 in the Lower Island AA standings.
Junior Boys Basketball
The SMUS Junior Boys played some of their best basketball of the season over the weekend, winning two of three games in the Mark Isfeld Spirit Bear Tournament at Courtenay.
The Junior Jags opened the eight-team tournament with a tough 71-67 loss to Timberline of Campbell River on Friday afternoon. SMUS trailed 24-14 in the first quarter as Timberline came out red-hot from behind the arc to start the game, but the Blue Jags battled back to take a one-point lead early in the fourth quarter.
In the final few minutes, the breaks didn’t go the Blue Jags’ way despite an intense effort by a determined SMUS team. Fouls played a huge part as Timberline went to the line 24 times in the game compared to 14 for the Blue Jags. Alex MacKay scored 18 points to lead SMUS while Aaron Williamson added 16 and Manav Kang contributed 15.
SMUS shook off that disappointing loss with a strong performance against Carihi of Campbell River in its second game on Friday. The Blue Jags jumped out to a 12-2 lead and everybody on the roster contributed in an eventual 55-42 win. Williamson led the way with 12 points while Matt Nacey added nine points and more than a dozen rebounds. Ming Tsang, MacKay and Kang each scored nine points as well in a well-balanced SMUS attack.
The Junior Jags backed that up with one of their most complete outings of the season on Saturday as they concluded the tournament with a 70-34 victory over Maple Ridge Secondary. Kang scored 16 points in that win while Henry Lake, with 10, Tsang, with 11, and Isaac Ren, with nine, all had strong performances off the bench. Carter Muise, who rebounded and defended well during the tournament, also contributed nine points.
Despite playing very well for long stretches of each game, SMUS dropped two Lower Island league contests in what was an extremely busy week for the team. On Tuesday, the Blue Jags fell 73-56 to visiting Oak Bay. MacKay and Williamson had 12 points each in that game while Muise added nine and Kang eight. In what was a tight game for much of the way, Oak Bay shot 21 free throws to just one for the Blue Jags.
On Wednesday, the Junior Jags dropped a 68-46 decision at Lambrick Park. Williamson had 11 points to pace SMUS in that game while MacKay added 10.
The SMUS Junior Boys have another very busy week with league home games vs. Stelly’s (Tuesday at 5:45 pm) and Belmont (Wednesday at 7:15 pm). They will also compete in the Spartans Invitational Tournament at Claremont, beginning with a 1:30 pm tipoff against Mark Isfeld on Friday.
Junior Girls Basketball
The provincially second-ranked SMUS Junior Girls team won two of its three games last week.
The Junior Jags beat Royal Bay 66-20 in a Lower Island league home game on Tuesday before downing Belmont 58-16 in a road contest on Wednesday. On Friday, the Blue Jags fell 65-36 to BC No. 4 GW Graham in an exhibition, as the visiting Grizzlies hit 11 three-pointers.
Elspeth Rodger led SMUS with 22 points in the win over Royal Bay while Linn Kuepper added 19 and Clara Pressello scored 10. Against Belmont, Mikaela Dubé and Rodger each contributed 19 points.
Rodger was injured and unavailable on Friday for the exhibition against GW Graham. Kuepper scored 20 points for SMUS in the loss while Dubé contributed 10 points and 11 rebounds, and Syd Martin added three rebounds and a pair of steals.
The Junior Jags will host Lambrick Park in a league game at 5:45 pm on Wednesday. They will also take part in this weekend’s EmpoweHER tournament at Oak Bay, playing Highland of Comox in their opener at 3 pm on Thursday.
Junior B Boys Basketball
The SMUS Junior ‘B’ Boys Basketball team split a pair of Lower Island Division 2 league games this past week.
On Monday, the Jags downed visiting Stelly’s ‘B’ 55-23. Bek Farish led the way with 11 points in the win while Kieran MacKay and Rubio Wu added eight apiece. SMUS also dropped a 47-28 road decision at Parkland on Thursday.
The Junior ‘B’ Boys will play twice this week – on Monday at Claremont ‘B’ in a 5:45 pm tipoff and on Thursday at home against the Oak Bay 9s, beginning at 4:15 pm.
Rugby
Two legendary sports figures with strong SMUS ties – Ian Hyde-Lay and Ed Fairhurst – have been honoured with induction into the Canadian Rugby Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2024.
Hyde-Lay, a SMUS teacher, administrator and rugby and basketball coach for 40 years, as well as an official and a player who earned international caps, goes into the Hall as a match official. The Rugby Canada Hall of Fame announcement reads as follows:
“Ian Hyde-Lay had a distinguished career as both a player and a match official. He served on Rugby Canada’s National Refereeing Panel for 11 years, from 1993 to 2003, and was widely regarded as one of the country's preeminent referees during that time.
“Hyde-Lay officiated 17 test matches between 1995 and 2000, as well as games involving the Australian and British Barbarians. Notably, he was a member of the referee panel at the 1999 Rugby World Cup, an assistant referee on two occasions in the 2000 Six Nations competition and served as an assistant referee in an additional 18 test matches.
“Hyde-Lay was involved in two Sevens Rugby World Cups (1997 and 2001) and participated in the 1998 Commonwealth Games sevens tournament. Prior to his refereeing career, Hyde-Lay earned three international caps as a player and represented Canada at the inaugural Rugby World Cup in 1987 in New Zealand.”
A former SMUS rugby standout, Fairhurst goes into the Hall as a player. The Rugby Canada Hall of Fame announcement reads as follows:
“Ed Fairhurst had an illustrious career representing both Canada’s Men's Rugby Team and Canada’s Men’s Sevens Team. He played for 12 years with Canada’s Men’s Rugby Team, from 2001 to 2012, earning 57 international caps and participating in three Rugby World Cups (2003, 2007, and 2011).
“At the time of his retirement, he held the record for the most caps by any scrumhalf in Canadian rugby history. In addition to his success in 15s, Fairhurst also played for Canada’s Men’s Sevens Team from 2000 to 2005, appearing in 15 tournaments, including the 2002 Commonwealth Games and the 2005 Sevens Rugby World Cup.
“On the professional rugby circuit, he spent two years with the Cardiff Blues (2005-2006), making 12 appearances, and three years with the Cornish Pirates (2006-2008), where he accumulated 49 appearances.”
