Boys: West Van vs. Rutland

Both teams were decked out in their black 'No Regrets' shirts for warm up this afternoon up at Collingwood as West Van prepared to take on Rutland from Kelowna. There was quite a mismatch down low with WV's big man, #12, Kim, against Rutland's #7, Thouli, but this didn't stop Rutland from opening up the scoring in transition when WV couldn't make quick use of their post. Rutland continued to attacked WV's 2-3 zone defence, finding pockets and capitalizing on them. With spectacular movement of the ball around the zone defence, as well as a baseline runner, Rutland was up 11-3 with 6 minutes to go in the first. 

Rutland clearly had a plan against WV's Kim, as they continued to collapse on him down low. However, WV countered with a three from their big man to come within one point of Rutland, going on a 7-0 run.  Another three pointer from WV's versatile Kim tied the game at 13 with three minutes left in the quarter. 

Continuing in transition, Rutland's #13, Porter, scored an easy layup and Rutland's coach subbed on some fresh legs to finish the quarter. A lazy turnover by Rutland couldn't be made use of by WV, and the quarter ended with Rutland in the lead 17-15. 

To start the second quarter, a long shot-clock buzzer beater from Rutland's Porter took them up three. After a WV timeout, both teams still had three's on the mind as Rutland hit one followed directly by West Van. This would tie the game at 25 with 5 left in first half. Rutland's Porter, with three fouls, was replaced on the floor, and it was clear he was a difference maker- without him, WV took their first lead of the game when #10 Fu hit another three, making it three for him in the first half. Rutland's guard #4 Wambacher continued to play stellar defence, but it wasn't enough in the second quarter to keep their lead, as the half ended with West Van up 39-37. 

To start the second half, Rutland started with a zone defence which didn't pose much of a problem for West Van as they broke it and scored twice followed by a visit to the free throw line to go up 7. Rutland's Porter came back on the floor despite having three fouls, scoring to bring Rutland within 5. They continued with their zone defence while West Van continued to break it, keeping their 7 point lead well into the third quarter. 

Rutland looked like they wanted to try something new as they subbed four players with 4 minutes left in the third quarter. Rutland's Wambacher continued to be a nuisance for WV's guards to put up with, and would create a turnover followed by draining a three, followed by another steal in West Van's back court followed by another three. This would tie the game with a minute left in the third quarter. After a pair of successful three throws by West Van's #4, Dunn, along with West Van being in bonus, West Van finished the third quarter up two points thanks to a shot from Rutland from behind the backboard. Score at the end of the third quarter: West Van 56- Rutland 54. 

It was anyone's game at this point. The physicality of the game increased as the whistle blew, signaling the start of the last quarter. Rutland's Wambacher continued to drive the hoop through traffic, making a seemingly impossible layup look easy. This would tie the game at 58. Rutland, thanks to #10 Sandhar's two, would once again take the lead with 6 minutes left in the game. 

Rutland pulled out all the stops by implementing a full-court press while up 7 with 5 minutes to go. This would be reduced to 5 points with a turnover for Rutland followed by a fast break by West Van to score. Rutland's offensive rebounding helped them secure two threes in a row, and Rutland went up 11 with 2 minutes to go. West Van, pulling out a full-court press to try to regain a lead, would end up falling to Rutland...