The dark horse came through for the win at the Fraser Valley AA senior boys’ basketball tournament in Chilliwack last weekend.
The unheralded Southridge Storm thrived in the underdog role, rising from unseeded qualifier to Fraser Valley champions.
It was the third Fraser Valley title for the South Surrey private school, and first since 2007.
“It’s been a while, but 12 of our 13 players were in Southridge the last time we won the Valley,†said Storm coach Steve Anderson. “They were all in the younger grades and they remember the excitement so they’ve aspired to do it again.â€
The Storm finished third in their league this season and had beat Thomas Haney in a play-in game just to qualify to play in the Fraser Valley tournament. Everyone else in the event was seeded higher, but that was no deterrent for the Storm.
The magic number for Southridge was 73, as the Storm scored that many points in each of their games en-route to the Valley crown.
Southridge topped Archbishop Carney 73-72 in their opener and followed that up with another 73-72 decision, this time over the Delview Raiders in semifinal play.
The Storm then completed their Cinderella run to the title by dispatching Pacific Academy 73-62 in Saturday’s final.
“We’ve played PA several times and we know they are a good, well-balanced team,†Anderson said.
“In the final we were able to use our strength to our advantage. Some of the things that they do well we were able to take away from them. It was probably our best game of the whole tournament.â€
The Storm will return to action at the provincial championships next week at the Langley Events Centre where they open against Elphinstone from the Sunshine Coast.
“I think we have a good chance,†Anderson said. “Elphinstone has proven all year that they have a good team, but if we play they way we can, we can compete with them. I’ve said all year with this crew that if we play the right way, we can have a chance to beat anybody. Hopefully we can do that at the provincials.â€