The Duncan Christian School Chargers clawed their way back from a 14-point first half deficit to force overtime against the John Barsby Bulldogs in the final of DCS's senior boys basketball tournament last Saturday, but were unable to pull out a victory.
"Their three-point shooting proved too much," said Chargers coach Jim Brandsma, whose team lost 80-75. "That was one of the best games for coming out of halftime resolved to make a difference and working hard to make it happen. The boys played hard and worked together, and it was great. They boosted their confidence in themselves."
Doug Groenendijk, Nick Kapteyn and Jesse Van Wingerden had 19, 18 and 17 points, respectively, in the final. Groenendijk added 16 rebounds, six steals and five assists, Kapteyn had nine boards and four steals, and Van Wingerden had four steals.
In the tournament semifinal on Friday, the Chargers downed Cedar Secondary 92-80.
"Our first game against Cedar was a good and bad game," Brandsma said. "The team played well together, but our defence was not at the top of its game."
Beyond just winning, the Chargers recorded their fewest turnovers to date.
Kapteyn paced the Chargers with 39 points against Cedar and added 11 rebounds. Mike Brandsma, one of the youngest players on the team, had 14 points on 78 per cent shooting, Groenendijk had 12 points and a team-high 12 boards, Van Wingerden had 11 points, nine assists and six steals, and Johnny Caron chipped in with seven assists.
The Chargers are ranked seventh among single-A schools in B.C, while both Barsby and Cedar are in the AA top 10 on Vancouver Island.