There will definitely be a southern flavour to the semifinals of the senior boy鈥檚 triple A basketball Island Championship.
Led by its top seed, the Claremont Spartans, tonight鈥檚 late semi 鈥� an 8:15 tip-off 鈥� will feature the South Island city champions against the cross-town Belmont Bulldogs in another highly anticipated matchup, which has produced close results all season.
The Spartans managed a 68-51 victory over Spectrum in one quarter-final late Thursday afternoon at the tournament, being held Mount Douglas Secondary.
Belmont scraped by Dover Bay 59-56 in the opening game.
鈥淚t was a scrappy first game, but we got it done in the end. That鈥檚 all that matters,鈥� said Claremont鈥檚 Mason Loewen, who along with Taylor Stinson-Montgomery had 15 points in the win.
Loewen鈥檚 totals included a pair of emphatic dunks in the fourth quarter 鈥� after leaving the game briefly with a bloodied nose in the third 鈥� as the Spartans were forced to come back.
They tied the score late in third, secured a 46-43 advantage heading into the final quarter and out-legged Spectrum from there.
Spartans coach Davey Sundher now prepares his team for a rematch with Belmont. Claremont came back from 11-point deficits numerous times in the South semifinal last week before downing the Bulldogs 72-65.
The Bulldogs, the No. 3 seed in the South, gutted out their 59-56 win over Dover Bay, the North No. 3.
鈥淲e had a good start, just what we wanted and the guys went back on their heels completely,鈥� said Belmont coach Kevin Brown, who watched a 22-8 first-quarter lead disappear.
Luckily, the Bulldogs got it back together late after trailing 44-40 after three quarters.
鈥淲e got some good finishes and timely free throws,鈥� said Brown.
Belmont was cold from the foul line, but its three city all-stars, Owen Vaags, Erik Spaven and Kane Johnston, led the way overall with 18, 14 and 14 points respectively in the win.
Tonight鈥檚 other semifinal will tip off at 6:30 p.m. with the North鈥檚 No.聽1 seed, Cowichan 鈥� which defeated Mount Doug 71-58 in a Thursday evening matchup 鈥� against the Oak Bay Bays, who hammered Vanier 68-37 on Thursday night.
