Holy Cross takes crown
Brentwood College didn’t quite have enough gas left in the tank or enough horses to finish the job.
The co-hosts of the Brentwood-Shawnigan Lake Countdown to the Playoffs invitational senior boys’ basketball tournament made the final against Holy Cross but ended up settling for second place in the 16-team tournament after losing 72-63 in overtime.
“We didn’t have any bodies left,’’ said Brentwood coach Blake Gage of the nine-point discrepancy in overtime. “We had three guys foul out.’’
Two players went out before the overtime on fouls and one at the start of the overtime. Jason Tran was also hurt down the stretch and couldn’t finish the game.
“We had the ball with a chance to win it at the end of regulation,’’ said Gage.
But that chance fell by the wayside and Holy Cross took charge in the overtime.
“They’re a very good team,’’ said Gage.
“They’re very big, very athletic. They beat us badly on the offensive and defensive glass. We had to shoot the ball well enough to stay in the game.’’
Ulas Zeyrek, Hayden Frisch and Shalev Sharable did a yeoman’s service for the team in the game and throughout the tournament. Sharabi and Jordan Charles were named Brentwood’s representatives on the tournament all-star team, along with Leo Chang of Shawnigan Lake.
Stanley Maduabueke of Holy Cross was the MVP.
Brentwood began its path to the final with a 67-51 win over G.W. Graham of Chilliwack and then defeated Wellington 73-50. Brentwood was only up three at the half against Wellington and then pulled away to win comfortably.
Semifinal action produced a 57-50 victory for Brentwood over Belmont.
“It’s always a tough one with Belmont,’’ said Gage. “I think we played better against them than we did last time.’’
Shawnigan Lake defeated Mount Douglas 60-52, fell 68-52 to Holy Cross and lost 54-47 to Gulf Islands to finish tied for seventh.
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