Lead photo credit: Wilson Wong (by permission of VarsityLetters.ca)
The Senior Boys basketball team finished 6th overall at the AA BC Boys Provincial championships in Langley, B.C. last week, March 5-8. Dani Pelyhe was named to the BC AA Championship second all-star team, for the team that also finished their season as second in league play, Island Champions and Victoria City Police Tournament champions. The SMUS Grade 7 Volleyball team also had a successful week capturing the City title for Middle School volleyball.
Senior Boys Basketball
The SMUS Senior Boys wrapped up a successful season this past weekend with a 2-2 showing and a sixth-place finish in the 16-team BC AA Basketball Championship tournament at the Langley Events Centre.
The fifth-seeded Blue Jags opened the tournament on Wednesday with a solid 65-47 decision over Charles Hays of Prince Rupert. Grade 11 guard Dani Pelyhe scored 17 points and was named player of the game for SMUS, which led the Rainmakers from start to finish. Brother Zaki Pelyhe added 14 points in the win while Wil Woods scored 13, Davis Hardy 12, and Elliot Mairet nine in a well-balanced Blue Jags attack.
That win put SMUS into the quarterfinal round at the LEC against the fourth-ranked Westsyde Whundas of Kamloops, a team that had beaten the Blue Jags by 32 points in the final of the Brentwood College Countdown to the Playoffs Tournament a month earlier.
This time around, SMUS gave the bigger Westsyde team a much tougher battle, leading 24-23 at the half and keeping the game very tight until late in the fourth quarter before eventually succumbing 73-63. Dani Pelyhe again led the way with 25 points for the Blue Jags before unfortunately fouling out with a few minutes left in the final period. This was a pivotal moment for the Jags, who had earlier also lost forwards Mairet and Jaiden Daniels to foul-outs. Hardy added 16 points in the hard-fought loss while Zaki Pelyhe contributed nine.
SMUS bounced back with a convincing 70-51 victory over Abbotsford Christian in its third game on Friday. Woods paced the Blue Jags with 16 points while Dani Pelyhe scored 15, Hardy had 14 and Mairet and Jack Driscoll added eight points apiece.
The win put the Blue Jags into the fifth-place game, where they faced the Notre Dame Jugglers of Vancouver. SMUS held a number of leads throughout the game, including a 68-67 advantage in the fourth quarter before surrendering the last seven points of the contest to lose 74-68. Woods once again led the Blue Jags in scoring with 27 points to earn player of the game honours, while Hardy had 14 and Dani Pelyhe contributed 10.
For his overall performance in the tournament, Dani Pelyhe was named to the BC AA Championship second all-star team.
SMUS enjoyed a solid season, going 35-10 overall. The Blue Jags finished second in Lower Island AA league play before winning the Island title late last month at Lambrick Park. Their season include an impressive championship in the annual Victoria City Police Tournament and a second-place finish in the Brentwood tournament.
Tournament Coverage - by permission of VarsityLetters.ca
- Day 1: Round of 16: - SMUS 65 - Charles Hays 47 - by Ian French
- Day 2: Round of 8: - SMUS 63 - Westsyde 73 - by Dan Kinvig
- Day 3: 5-8th Place - SMUS 70 - Abbotsford Christian 51 (no report)
- Day 4: 5-6th Place - SMUS 68 - Notre Dame Jugglers 74 (no report)
Grade 7 Boys Volleyball
The SMUS Boys won two straight playoff matches last week to capture the Lower Island Grade 7 Volleyball Championship.
The Blue Jags beat Gordon Head 2-1 in a semifinal before moving on to defeat Lansdowne 2-1 in the final. Congratulations to coach Brady Doland and the team.
