SMUS teams continued a strong stretch of competition last week, with tournament success, key league results, and standout performances across basketball and squash. Here’s a look at the latest results and what’s ahead on the schedule.
Squash
SMUS Squash team members captured four tier championships and posted 13 top-three finishes overall in the Shawnigan Junior Silver No. 4 event held over the weekend at Shawnigan Lake School.
Carsten Rodger of SMUS finished first in Tier 1, Gavin Alexander topped Tier 3, James Li-Pittam won Tier 9, and Benjamin Sowden took Tier 10 honours.
Other SMUS medallists in the event included:
Tier 1: third, Rakshith Arun
Tier 3: third, Lucas Wei
Tier 4: third, Harrison Sartori
Tier 5: third, Tristan Huang
Tier 6: third, Zeke Liu
Tier 7: third, Sion Hsieh
Tier 9: second, Byrdie Fisher-Franke
Tier 10: second, Carter Crawford; third, Katie Liu
The SMUS Elite team, including Rodger, Max Arndt, Kieran MacKay, and Elliot Judson, will compete in this coming weekend’s Nanaimo Open
SMUS athletes will also play in the Pacific Northwest National Junior Circuit event, Feb. 6-8 at Cedar Hill Squash Club, SMUS, and UVic. Sixteen SMUS Squash team members will compete in the Platinum draws and 21 members will play in the Silver draws.
Grade 9 Boys Basketball
The SMUS Grade 9 Boys Basketball team rolled to the championship of the Mark Isfeld Spirit Bear Tournament in Courtenay this past weekend, beating Dover Bay 86-43 in Saturday’s final.
Forward Seb Divoky of the Blue Jags was selected as the tournament MVP while guard Kian Harris earned player-of-the-game honours in the final with 10 points, eight rebounds, and four assists.
In Saturday morning’s semifinal, forward Declan Ross was player of the game as the Grade 9 Boys defeated St. Andrew’s 70-49. Ross had eight points and 12 rebounds in that game.
Divoky scored 14 points to earn player-of-the-game honours on Friday as the Blue Jags opened the tournament with a 48-14 win over Highland of Comox.
The Grade 9s also won their only league game last week, a 76-16 victory on Monday at Parkland. Nick You had 20 points to lead the Blue Jags, who improved their Lower Island Junior Division 2 record to 6-0.
SMUS will play host to Vic High in its final league game this Monday at 5:45 pm. The Blue Jags will also travel to Quw’utsun for a weekend tournament beginning Friday.
Junior Boys Basketball
The SMUS Junior Boys put together another strong week, winning both their Lower Island Junior Division 1 games and reaching the championship final of the eight-team Spartan Invitational tournament at Claremont.
On Tuesday, the Junior Jags escaped Stelly’s with a league win, beating the host Stingers 64-57 despite surrendering a season-high 15 three-pointers. Point guard Manav Kang led SMUS with 21 points in the game while William Low added 17 and Alex MacKay had 15.
The Junior Boys turned in a much stronger effort on Wednesday, a 55-24 home win over Royal Bay in their second league game of the week. Evan Pressello’s gritty defence on Royal Bay’s top scorer was a key to the victory for the Blue Jags and he also contributed seven points. MacKay led the Junior Jags in scoring with 17 points while Kang added 10 and Low had nine. Forward Matt Nacey controlled the paint for SMUS with 19 rebounds and also chipped in eight points.
MacKay scored 21 points on Friday, as the Blue Jags opened the Claremont tournament with a quality 57-45 win over Quw’utsun. Kang added 17 points in the victory while Low had 9.
In a Saturday morning semifinal, SMUS decisively beat host Claremont 65-43 behind the 16-point, 11-assist performance of Kang while backcourt mate MacKay added 15 points on five three-pointers. Nacey scored 15 points and dominated the boards along with Low, who contributed 12 points. Pressello once again led a strong team defensive showing and chipped in six points.
In the final, the Blue Jags played Lambrick Park tough but came out on the wrong end of a 66-54 score. The teams battled hard with a number of lead changes until late in the third quarter when the Lions managed to gain some separation. MacKay pumped in 27 points in the loss while Kang added 12 points and Nacey and Pressello had seven points each along with nine and six rebounds, respectively.
MacKay and Kang were named to the Spartan Invitational Tournament all-star team for their efforts.
The Blue Jags have a big week ahead, with their final two league games that will decide whether they host a playoff game or begin the postseason on the road. SMUS plays host to Oak Bay on Tuesday at 4:15 pm with the two teams now tied for third in the standings at 6-2. The Junior Jags will then wrap up their regular season with another big matchup against host Claremont (6-3) on Wednesday at 7:15 pm.
Lambrick (9-0) and Belmont (8-1) have already sewn up the top two spots in the standings. But the Blue Jags’ two games this week will determine the third through fifth spots.
Senior Boys Basketball
The SMUS Senior Boys turned the tables on the visiting Parkland Panthers in Lower Island AA league action last Tuesday night. After losing a lopsided league game at Parkland just one week earlier, the Blue Jags bounced back with a convincing 88-66 victory this time around.
Point guard Dani Pelyhe led the way with a sterling 45-point effort while guard Will Bateson had 19 points in the victory. The win improved the Blue Jags’ Lower Island AA record to 5-1 with two games remaining and guaranteed them no worse than second place in the regular season.
SMUS will travel to Pacific Christian (6-1) for a league game this Tuesday at 7 pm before wrapping up the regular season with a home game against Glenlyon Norfolk School on Feb. 3.
The Blue Jags will also compete in the Brentwood Countdown to the Playoffs Tournament this weekend, beginning with a 2:15 pm tip off Thursday against Nanaimo District.
Junior Girls Basketball
The SMUS Junior Girls Basketball team also played well last week, winning two Lower Island Division 1 league games and finishing third in the EmpowHer Tournament at Oak Bay.
Ali Brooks scored 16 points to lead the Junior Jags to a 50-19 win over visiting Claremont last Tuesday. Brooks then replicated those 16 points in a 48-18 road victory at Belmont the following night. Piper Geddes added 11 points for the Junior Jags, who are unbeaten in league play at 7-0, while Lauren Arndt added seven.
Brooks continued her strong week, earning player-of-the-game honours in a 40-17 win Thursday to open the EmpowHer Tournament. Ella Buckley led the Junior Jags in scoring with 13 points while Ava Crawford scored seven and Geddes and Brooks had six apiece.
On Friday, the Junior Girls gave Semiahmoo all it could handle but eventually dropped a 42-40 decision to their Lower Mainland opponent in a tournament semifinal. Brooks again led the Junior Jags with 12 points while Geddes had 11.
Geddes was named player of the game as the Blue Jags beat host Oak Bay 40-33 in the EmpowHER third-place game on Saturday. Geddes scored 19 points in that contest and was subsequently selected to the tournament all-star team.
The Junior Girls have a busy week ahead. They will play road games Tuesday at Spectrum (4:15 pm) and Wednesday at Oak Bay (5:45 pm). On the weekend, the team heads to the Lower Mainland for the annual Tessa’s Tournament which includes a number of top-ranked Junior teams. SMUS tips off that tournament on Friday at Holy Cross against the host Crusaders beginning at 3 pm.
Senior Girls Basketball
The SMUS Senior Girls Basketball team also had a busy week with a league game and an appearance in the EmpowHer Tournament at Oak Bay.
In Lower Island Division 1 action last Tuesday night, the Blue Jags made quick work of visiting Royal Bay, winning 57-26. Mikaela Dubé finished with 17 points, Mya Beare added 14, and Leila Mostachfi chipped in with seven. There were many great contributions from all players.
On Thursday, the team opened the EmpowHer Tournament against Langley Secondary School. It was a lopsided affair, with the Blue Jags taking a 36-17 halftime lead before finishing with a 73-24 win. Once again, Dubé paced the team with 22 points, while Indigo Edgington added 13. All of the Blue Jags got on the scoresheet and finished with significant minutes.
In a Friday semifinal, SMUS squared off against last year’s rival and current BC AA No. 1-ranked Holy Cross. The Crusaders boast a dynamic duo up front along with some solid perimeter shooting. Unfortunately, the pace and variety of offensive weapons were too much for the SMUS Seniors, as they lost 68-49. Dubé was terrific at both ends of the court, finishing with 26 points and 11 rebounds. Elspeth Rodger added 11 points and eight rebounds for SMUS.
The loss meant a bronze-medal matchup once again with Oak Bay – the two teams’ third meeting in as many weeks. Unlike the previous two matches, the Blue Jags were flat-footed to start the game, giving up a 20-7 first-quarter lead. After much hard work, particularly at the defensive end, the Senior Girls chipped away to narrow Oak Bay’s lead to 24-19 by the half. But that gap would be too much to close completely and the Jags were eventually defeated 48-45. Dubé led all scorers with 19 points and Rodger added 15.
Dubé was named to the tournament all-star team thanks to a consistent effort throughout the event.
Up next for the Senior Girls is a must-win league game against visiting Mount Douglas on Tuesday, tipping off at 5:45 pm in the Single Gym. The team then heads back to Vancouver for Tessa’s Tournament, where it will see a variety of AAA teams who are chomping at the bit to take down the BC fourth-ranked Blue Jags. Action begins on Friday against Valleyview of Kamloops, followed by two games on Saturday against Yale and Robert Bateman.
Junior ‘B’ Girls Basketball
Yiran Yang scored 18 points and Grace Crawford added 16 as the SMUS Junior ‘B’ Girls beat host Vic High 49-9 in their final Lower Island Division 2 regular-season game last Monday.
The Junior ‘B’ Jags finished the regular season with a 5-1 record and will head into playoffs next week.
