Podium finishes have earned McMath Wildcats and MacNeill Ravens berths into the 2019 Junior Boys Provincial Basketball Invitational Tournament that starts next Saturday at the Langley Events Centre.
The top 10 ranked Wildcats and Ravens were second and third respectively at the Vancouver and District Championships that concluded on Friday at Burnaby South Secondary.
The Richmond champion Wildcats fell 71-57 to the host and No. 1 ranked Rebels in the title game. Leading 23-19 after one quarter, Burnaby South went on a 21-2 run to take a 46-25 lead into halftime.
McMath closed to within 10 points in the late going before the Rebels sealed the win.Travis Hamberger led the Wildcats with 25 points. Rio Hutchful chipped in with 10.
The road to the championship game included a 74-49 victory over Saint Thomas Aquinas (STA) in the semi-finals. Michael Kitka had a team-high 25.
The Wildcats opened with a 64-43 victory against Burnaby Central Hamberger had 24 points and six rebounds as his team pulled away in the final quarter.
The Ravens clinched their place at the LEC with a 52-34 win over STA. They enjoyed an outstanding second half, outscoring the North Shore school 28-10. Tanner Devlin led the way with 27 points.
MacNeill also hung tough with the Rebels in the semi-finals, trailing 25-21 at the half before a big third quarter for Burnaby South resulted in a 62-52 win. Everett Swaim had 17 points and 10 rebounds.
The Ravens had their hands full in a quarter-quarter-final match-up with Handsworth, pulling out a 56-53 win behind 23 points from Swaim.
The provincials run from next Saturday to the following Tuesday.
