Diego Maffia, playing for Oak Bay High School, scored what is thought to be the most points in a basketball game by a sa国际传媒 high school player 鈥� 96 鈥� as the Bays defeated the Ross Sheppard Thunderbirds of Edmonton 114-88 in the 46th annual Western sa国际传媒 tournament Saturday in Kelowna. 鈥淚 am shocked and simply amazed,鈥� Maffia said. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 even know what to think.鈥�
The epic achievement was not against a lowly team. While Oak Bay is ranked No. 6 in sa国际传媒, Ross Sheppard is an honourable mention on the Alberta high school top-10 poll.
鈥淚 got into a groove early. I was just feeling it, I guess,鈥� Maffia said.
鈥淚 said to the guys at one point in the second half: 鈥業 hope I hit 60聽today.鈥� A teammate told me I already had 73. I thought to myself: 鈥極h my god!鈥� 鈥�
Maffia鈥檚 previous career best was the 67 points he scored this season against Walnut Grove of Langley. He was brought to the bench Saturday with two minutes remaining in the game, four points shy of 100.
鈥淧robably [the coaches] did not realize how many points I was at,鈥� said the Grade 12 student.
鈥淢y teammates provided me amazing support and were feeding me the ball and are so happy for me. The standing ovation from the crowd was very nice.鈥�
Maffia and his family came to sa国际传媒 from Brazil when he was in Grade 9.
Rich Fast, Oak Bay High鈥檚 athletic director, said Maffia is also a standout in soccer and volleyball, leading the Bays to the sa国际传媒 championship tournaments in both sports in the fall.
鈥淚n an era when kids are specializing in one sport, he plays three well, and could go on to the next level [in university] in all three sports,鈥� Fast said. 鈥淎nd he is such a well-grounded kid.鈥�
Outside of provincial championships, high school scoresheet record-keeping can be spotty, especially in tournaments.
But the former sa国际传媒 high school single-game record is thought to be the 82 points scored by Greg DeVries of the L.V. Rogers Secondary Bombers of Nelson in 1991 against Grand Forks.
