Lacking offence at critical times throughout the season had hurt the St. Michaels University School Blue Jags.
It reared its ugly head at the most inopportune time on Saturday.
A second-quarter funk, in which the team scored just two points, failed to allow the defending champions the opportunity to bring their second straight double-A senior boy鈥檚 sa国际传媒 High School Basketball Provincial Championship back to Victoria.
The Collingwood Cavaliers 鈥� who had defeated the Lambrick Park Lions in the semifinal the previous night 鈥� trumped the Blue Jags 68-40 to win the 2016 title. SMUS had to settle on silver, as it did in 2014 against Lambrick.
That makes it silver, gold, silver performances the last three years for the scrappy Blue Jags.
鈥淛ust battered from start to finish,鈥� said disappointed SMUS head coach Ian Hyde-Lay. 鈥淲e could not guard with any consistency 鈥� multiple turnovers and out-rebounded. Not a great three-pack.鈥�
Down 18-10 after the first quarter, the Blue Jags trailed 34-12 at the half, which left a major hurdle to clear in the second.
Tournament MVP Carter Armstrong had 21 points for Collingwood and Jaden Narwal added 19, while Jamison Schulz-Franco was the only SMUS player in double figures with 21.
Still, it was a solid tournament for SMUS, which came in ranked No. 5. Collingwood was ranked No. 3.
It was also a tough ending for the No. 2 Lambrick Park Lions, who were forced to play their entire season without stars Calvin Somers and Ben Reddy, who were lost in the first week of play due to serious knee injuries that required surgeries.
The Lions lost their last two games at provincials, in the semifinal to Collingwood, and then dropped a close 66-61 decision to No. 1 G.W. Graham for bronze on Saturday morning.
鈥淚鈥檓 very, very proud of our guys. Fourth in sa国际传媒 and we won the Island. No team did better minus two great players than we did,鈥� said Lions head coach Ed Somers.
Also in double-A, the No. 11 Shawnigan Lake Stags pulled out a 73-70 win over No. 4 Saint Patrick in the fifth-place game in what was a wonderful week for the entire Island, especially in double-A where three top-five finishes were recorded.
In quadruple-A play, the Oak Bay Bays finished fifth after a 75-62 victory against Kitsilano late Saturday afternoon. The Bays entered the tournament as the No. 4 seed in a tough 16-team field, while Kitsilano was No. 6. Cowichan downed Terry Fox 67-50 in the 13th-place matchup.
At triple-A, No. 8 Mark Isfeld Ice of Courtenay lost 58-44 to No. 11 Lord Byng in the fifth-place game. In an all-Nanaimo clash, Wellington defeated Nanaimo District 61-47 in the 11th-place matchup.
In single-A, the Duncan Christian Chargers worked their way into the fifth-place game before succumbing 60-42 to West Point Grey. St. Andrew鈥檚 lost 59-52 to Immaculata.
The Chargers鈥� senior girl鈥檚 team also played host to provincials in Duncan where they defeated Fernie 53-47 in the 13th-place game while St. Andrew's finished 15th. Langley Christian downed Agassiz 83-37 for gold and Credo defeated Mulgrave 69-58 for bronze.
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