The North Delta Huskies beat the Pitt Meadows Marauders 69-56 to take the Fraser Valley AAA basketball championship on Friday night in Pitt Meadows.
Both teams started slow, but North Delta took a 29-23 lead into the half, and never gave it up.
“I was proud of the way we fought,” said Pitt Meadows coach Carson Power. “We came out in the second half with a lot of energy. It was maybe too little, too late.
“The other team hit some very big shots. That was much of the difference tonight,” he said. “They are very good. They have a couple players who are absolutely fantastic shooters…”
Marauder first team all-star Gio Manu led Pitt Meadows in scoring with 14 points. Both Connor Laverty and Cole Leon scored 13. They were each named to the tournament’s second all-star team. Ross Power nailed three treys in the fourth quarter, as Pitt moved away from the inside game and bombed from outside to try and cut into the lead. He finished with 12 points.
Husky Armann Johal led all scorers with 25 points. Suraj Gahir, the tournament MVP, had a comparatively quiet 10, as he was nearly shut down by great defence from Pitt’s Power. The Huskies had two first team all-stars in Arun Atker and Vikram Hayer, and both scored 12 points in the championship game.
“I feel good about going into the BC Championships with where our team is at,” said coach Power, “and we’re going to learn from this.”
The last time Pitt Meadows won the Fraser Valley championship was in 2012, before high schools went to the present alignment of leagues. Power also won a championship with Pitt Meadows in 1991. He said playing a Fraser Valley title is a great experience for his players.
“It’s a rarity. It was nice to be in the final, and have a chance at it.”
The five teams advancing to the B.C. Tournament are North Delta (1), Pitt Meadows (2), Clayton Heights (3), Rick Hansen (4) and MEI (5). The tournament will run March 7-10 at the Langley Events Centre.
