The machine known as the Oak Bay Bays continues to roll, racking up a 96-48 win over the Cowichan Thunderbirds in the first semifinal of the quadruple-A senior boys鈥� Island basketball championship Friday night at Belmont Secondary.
Cowichan won the opening tip-off and held a 10-7 lead midway through the first quarter, but it was Bays all the way once the No. 3-ranked team in the province found its high gear.
A 16-3 run gave the Bays a 23-13 first-quarter lead and the Island favourites also led 48-28 at the half and 72-39 after three quarters.
鈥淭his could be three straight if we win this Island title. We just want to keep it going and make a run at provincials,鈥� said Grade 12 Oak Bay guard Jaden Touchie, who recorded 15 points and was named player of the game. 鈥淭oday we had a slow start, but we started pushing it. We just had to stay true to what we do.鈥�
Caelan Scott had 18 for Oak Bay and Isaiah Romanow added 13 for the extremely deep Bays.
鈥淚 thought in the second half we came out with some pretty good concentration. We were able to put it away. The second group then came in and played hard and I thought they did quite well,鈥� said Bays coach Chris Franklin.
It鈥檚 that depth on the Oak Bay bench that usually wears opponents down.
鈥淲e鈥檙e in a great situation where we have kids that are skilled, who can play and make good decisions. The kids put in a lot of time so it鈥檚 good they get that opportunity,鈥� Franklin said of the depth.
Brandon Reymerink had 12 points for Cowichan.
In the late semifinal, the host Belmont Bulldogs defeated the Dover Bay Dolphins 91-80 to advance to tonight鈥檚 championship final against the Bays, starting at 8 p.m.
The top two teams advance to provincials in Langley, but the third-place finisher can challenge the silver medalists, should they have not met at Islands.
Meanwhile at the triple-A championship at Vic High, the host Totems fell 74-54 to the Wellington Wildcats in one semifinal, while the favoured Nanaimo District Islanders downed Carihi 66-34 in the other.
The third-place game will tip-off at 6 p.m. today followed by the championship game at 7:45 p.m. The top four teams will advance to sa国际传媒鈥檚.
At the double-A championship at Brentwood College, the host team and No. 1-ranked club in the province had little trouble disposing of St. Michaels University School, winning 76-37. The Lambrick Park Lions, meanwhile, also handled Shawnigan Lake 88-65 in the other.
Brentwood College and Lambrick Park both advance to provincials, March 8-11 in Langley. This will be the seventh straight trip to sa国际传媒鈥檚 for coach Ed Somers鈥� Lions, who will meet Brentwood tonight at 7:15 in the Island championship.
鈥淭here has been a method of hard work and good luck,鈥� said Somers.
A third double-A team will join the two at sa国际传媒鈥檚 after the 5:30 p.m. third-place game.
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