“I was hoping we would be scrappier than them today, but it turned out they were scrappier than us, too. We’re never going to beat them unless we play harder than they do."
Rich Alston, Mouat's Head Coach
(Pictured: Argyle's Sean Burke has been the floor general for the North Shore squad that has gone undefeated this season.)
“It’s a pretty amazing experience – being a senior, and being 30-0 right now, We have three of the best coaches in the province (Glen Chu, Mike Frisby, Peter Therrien), as well, our team is so versatile and dynamic, on any given day, anyone can step up.”
Sean Burke, Argyle Senior PG
Pictured: Sean Burke, the tournaments MVP takes it to the hoop against a Mouat defender in the finals of the Western Canada tournament.)
Top-Ranked Pipers Win Second Consecutive Western Canada Title
(Words: Jake Adams)
Too good, too big and too deep. And now, two in a row. The Argyle Pipers cruised to their second-straight Whillis-Harding Western Canada title on Saturday, deep-frying the W.J. Mouat Hawks 70-46 in the championship game of the senior boys basketball tournament.
It was over by the time the fourth quarter began, as B.C.’s top-ranked team dismantled the Hawks with a combination of tournament MVP Sean Burke and all-stars Ben Frisby and Sinclair Brown. Mouat, ranked sixth in the province, scored the first basket of the game, but then never led again, and trailed by as much as 30. “They’re just good, right? They are better than us,” said Hawks coach Rich Ralston. “I was hoping we would be scrappier than them today, but it turned out they were scrappier than us, too. We’re never going to beat them unless we play harder than they do.” Burke never scored more than 15 points in a game this tournament, scoring just 11 in the final, but earned MVP honours. Kevin Shaw led the Pipers with 19 points, while Brown and Frisby had 18 and 17, respectively. Nathan Dickson, Mouat’s all-star guard, was limited to just five points by Brown. John Isaak was the Hawks’ leading scorer, pumping in 13 points.
Ralston knew the monumental task the Hawks had in store for them, saying there’s a huge talent gap between the top five teams in the province and the rest. Argyle’s defence harassed Mouat the entire game, even when the Pipers went way down their bench early in the fourth quarter. “They play six guys, and they’re all complete basketball players,” said Ralston. “They can all pass, shoot, and play defence. And you look at their starting line-up, and they’re just huge, right? I mean, their shortest guy is like six-two, six-three.”
Only two teams had ever repeated as Western Canada champs — Oak Bay in 1974-75, and Australia’s Bulleen-Templestowe in 1986-87. The Pipers are on track to cap off the season with a provincial title, having beaten every team they’ve played this year.
The question now is, can anybody stop the Pipers sweet string music? “As long as we play as a team, and play our game, I think we’ll be a very tough team to beat,” said the six-foot-four Burke, one of the top guards in the province. "Game in and game out, we’re going to come after our opponents, regardless of how good they are. If they can come out and step up to our level, then they’ll have an opportunity.” Argyle is now 30-0 on the season, a feat Burke never imagined possible. “It’s a pretty amazing experience – being a senior, and being 30-0 right now,” he said. “We have three of the best coaches in the province (Glen Chu, Mike Frisby, Peter Therrien), as well, our team is so versatile and dynamic, on any given day, anyone can step up.”
THREE-POINT SHOOTOUT
It was so nice, they did it twice. And thrice. And ... you get the
picture. It took four rounds to determine a winner when Ross Sheppard’s Terrance Blake and Argyle’s Kevin Shaw faced off in the final of the three-point contest. The first three times, Shaw came from behind to tie it on the last shot ?— sinking the two-points "money ball" to stay alive. But it was the Pipers guard who played sweet string music in the end, winning the final go-around 6-4.
SLAM DUNK COMPETITION
New West's Michael Muhami raised the bar with his last two dunks. Kelowna's Wendell Thomas raised the rim. After the 6-5 Hyacks forward brought the house to their feet with two ferocious dunks — one crotch-to-face one-handed tomahawk over a helpful teammate, another a two-handed alley-oop off the board over two kids from the stands - Thomas got the gym staff to rack up another 12 inches on the hoop. Taking off on one foot from the left-hand side, the 6-6 senior rammed it home with two hands, finishing his high-school career undefeated (3-0) in the Western Canada dunk comp.
ALL-STAR TEAMS
First Team:
Sinclair Brown (Argyle)
Josh Isaak (W.J. Mouat)
Aymen Nurhusien (New West)
Ben Frisby (Argyle)
Nathan Dickson (W.J. Mouat)
Second Team:
Dan Lother (Jeanne-Sauve)
Will Dean (KSS)
Andrew Champagnie (Ross Sheppard)
Nick Lother (Jeanne-Sauve)
Herman Tesfaghebrial (New West)
Most Sportsmanlike Team: W.J. Mouat
Tournament MVP: Sean Burke (Argyle)
