The Brookswood Bobcats and Walnut Grove Gators were crowned the Grade 8 boys and girls district champions in their respective divisions, while the Credo Christian Kodiaks took the junior girls title and the Langley Christian Lightning won in the junior boys’ division.
The four teams won their respective divisions on Friday (Feb. 9) as the Langley District Basketball Championships concluded at Langley Events Centre.
Junior Boys: Langley Christian 76 Walnut Grove 71
The junior boys’ final went down to the wire with the Langley Christian Lightning riding a dominant performance from Tyse Wagenaar as he scored 51 points in a 76-71 victory over the top-seed Walnut Grove Gators. Langley Christian entered the District playoffs as the No. 2 seed.
It was a back-and-forth game with Walnut Grove ahead 19-15 after a period and 40-35 at the half before the Lightning took a 59-56 lead with a quarter to play. The teams were tied at 66 in the fourth before Langley Christian was able to take the lead for good.
Jarom Smith added 14 in the victory while Max Ladtchenko had 23 and Liam Burt scored 20 for the Gators. Eighteen of Burt’s 20 points came from beyond the arc.
In the semi-final round, the Lightning were 62-29 winners over the R.E. Mountain Eagles while the Gators won 51-48 against the Brookswood Bobcats.
And in the third-place game, it was Brookswood winning 66-37 over Mountain, while Credo Christian finished fifth. All five teams have qualified for the Eastern Valley Athletic Association Championships.
Junior Girls: Credo Christian 41 R.E. Mountain 22
A defensive masterpiece helped the Credo Christian Kodiaks ground the R.E. Mountain Eagles.
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The Kodiaks held Mountain to single digits in all four quarters, punctuated by allowing just two points in the third which allowed Credo Christian to extend their lead from eight to 21 points over those eight minutes.
Kenzie Raap led Credo with 21 points while Presley Kobes chipped in a dozen in the victory. Katrina Fong’s eight points led the Eagles with Leah Robinson adding six.
The two teams were seeded one-two for the district playoffs with Credo entering the playoffs with a 7-0 mark, one better than the 6-1 Eagles. The Kodiaks defeated the No. 4 Walnut Grove Gators 51-32 in the semi-final round while Mountain was a 41-34 winner over the No. 3 Brookswood Bobcats.
The Bobcats did rebound to win the third-place game 39-31 over Walnut Grove while Langley Secondary took fifth place. The five teams have qualified for the Eastern Valley Athletic Association Championships.
Grade 8 Girls: Walnut Grove 39 Brookswood 22
A two-point game at the quarter break, the Walnut Grove Gators used an 8-2 spurt to build a double-digit advantage they carried the rest of the way in a 39-22 victory over the Brookswood Bobcats.
The Gators defence was up 10 at the halftime break and were especially stingy in the third quarter, allowing just a single point over those eight minutes.
The trio of Brooklyn Sorensen (12 points), Brooke Owen-Merriott (10) and Madisyn Burt (9) led a balanced Walnut Grove attack. Emy Rosen led the Bobcats with nine of her team’s points.
Walnut Grove was the top team during the regular season and won 53-28 over Langley Christian to earn their spot in the championship game, while Brookswood – who was seeded No. 2 – won 38-15 over Langley Fundamental. Langley Christian took third place thanks to a 20-9 win over Langley Fundamental, with all four teams advancing to the Eastern Valley Athletic Association Championships.
Grade 8 Boys: Brookswood 74 Walnut Grove 43
The Brookswood Bobcats rode a dominant offensive first half as they scored 44 points in the opening 16 minutes, on route to a 74-43 victory over the Walnut Grove Gators.
Leading the way for the ‘Cats was Tyson Kenyon, who scored 24 of his game-high 36 points in the first two quarters. He also deadly from distance, draining seven triples.
With the Bobcats big man Marcus Tyler drawing significant attention inside the paint, Brookswood connected on a dozen shots from beyond the arc, Carter Heilbron was second on the team with 13 points while Sawyer Julihn chipped in with 11. JB Lim’s 12 points were tops for Walnut Grove.
Brookswood was the top seed for the Districts, and they defeated Langley Christian 64-22 in the semi-finals, while the No. 2 Gators were 51-44 winners over Yorkson Creek. Yorkson Creek defeated Langley Christian in the third-place game 47-38 with all four teams moving on to the Eastern Valley Athletic Association Championships.
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