The Howe Sound Sounders grounded the Chatelech Eagles Saturday night in Sechelt.
The Sounders from Squamish pulled out a thrilling 58-57 win to capture the Open Waters senior boys basketball tournament title.
Chat and Howe Sound have been involved in several memorable contests over the years and Saturday's encounter was another classic duel between the two high schools.
Howe Sound led 15-13 in a low-scoring defensive first quarter. Both teams found a bit of a scoring touch in the second and Chat led 30-28 at the end. Momentum switched back and forth throughout the third quarter, with Chat in the lead 43-40 heading into the final quarter.
With 14 seconds to go in the game and Chat clinging to a 57-56 lead, Sounders' guard Zed Dhalla hit a fade away jumper from the corner of the key to put Howe Sound up by one.
Zed showed leadership and poise throughout the contest and was among the Sounders' top scorers with 14 points.Chat tried a long outlet pass, which was intercepted by a Sounders' player. He was fouled and could have put the game away but missed his free throw. Chat rebounded and took their final timeout with 3.6 seconds left on the clock to try to set up a play.
Devan Haynes drove the floor and threw up a desperation lay-up at the buzzer, but the shot rimmed out and the Sounders erupted in celebration.
Devan led Chat in scoring with 35 points.
"It was a terrific final. The better team won," said Chat coach Bruce Haynes. "We didn't play well at times defensively and that cost us in key situations."
Chat's next league game is next Thursday, Jan. 25, in Squamish, where Haynes hopes his charges can exact some level of revenge.
"That's a good ball team over there," he said. "We match up very well against their team. Over the years we've had some great games and there is a good rivalry in a lot of respects."
Chat sits at 2-2 in league play. The next few weeks are going to be critical for the Eagles as they get into the heart of their schedule.
"We started off the year very strong, but lately we haven't been very consistent with our play. We seem to play a good game, then come out the next with a very poor effort," Haynes said.
"We also have to get more balanced scoring. You just can't rely on one player. Others have to start stepping up and taking a more active, offensive role. We missed a lot of easy shots Saturday night. In a close ball game like that one, you have to capitalize on all your opportunities."
In the third/fourth place game, the West Point Grey Wolves tripped up Elphin-stone Cougars 52-42.
The Cougars had a good tournament according to coach Mike Sopow, but maybe ran out of gas in the final game.
"The guys had a good weekend. They played well, but I think they just didn't have the stamina left in the final game," Sopow said. "Our first couple of games during the tournament were really good. I saw a big improvement between those games and the games we played in December. The defensive intensity has picked up and our shooting was better. I'm certainly encouraged by what I saw on the weekend."
Mitch Rainer led the Cougars' attack with 14 points in the final game.
Elphi is 2-3 in league play. Elphi played Collingwood on Wednesday and Bodwell yesterday, Thursday. Results were not available at press time. The squad is off to Nanaimo this weekend for a tournament. The Cougars next league home game is Feb. 1 when Mulgrave pays a visit.
Pender Harbour also played in last weekend's tournament. The squad got a lot of experience playing against stiff competition. Pender lost to Chat, Elphi and West Point Grey by pretty big margins, but saved their best for last losing a tight 68-59 contest in their final game to St. John's.
In other hoops news from around the Coast, the senior girls teams from both Chat and Elphi continue to struggle.
The Cougars are 0-4 in league play. They played Collingwood and Bodwell this week. Results were not available from either game.
Elphi plays Chat in Sechelt on Jan. 25 for Coast bragging rights.
Chat sits at 0-5 in league play after dropping a 69-17 decision to Sentinel Jan. 9. The Eagles played St. Thomas Aquinas (STA) on Tuesday.
In junior boys action, Elphi evened its record at 2-2 in league play with recent back-to-back wins.
The Cougars beat STA 63-54 on Jan. 10 and nipped Sentinel 56-55 on Monday. Elphi plays at Handsworth next Monday.
The Chat junior girls sit a 0-5 in league play. Chat travelled to Sutherland Wednesday for a game against the Sabres.
On Jan. 10, the Chat juvenile boys won their first league game of the season, a 49-29 trouncing of Rockridge.
Leading the way for Chat were Zander Reid with 17 points, Paul Desautels with 15 and Branden Hussey with 10. Paul was also named game MVP for his exemplary defensive play.
Chat played Sentinel Monday on the road and has road games upcoming against West Vancouver and Mulgrave.
The Elphi juvenile boys are 0-1 in league play after they lost 68-42 to Sentinel on Jan. 10.
