(BOYS) First rounder sees 6th-time tournament attendee Charles Hays fall to Argyle Pipers
Argyle Pipers vs Charles Hayes Rainmakers
Written by Devin Delany
The Argyle Pipers opened their ‘No Regrets’ tournament with a Thursday afternoon affair against the visiting Charles Hayes Rainmakers who made the long journey from Prince Rupert. Despite travel logistics making things real difficult, the No Regrets tournament staff certainly appreciate the long-time tournament attendees making the extra effort to be here! Rupert? Never missed one!
The Pipers came out flying to start the tournament on the right foot and seemed to have their long-range shots on lock. Alumni coach Max Whitworth certainly had the boys fired up for the start of this one showing off not only their jumpers but also their fancy new gymnasium. This resulted in a massive 15-0 Argyle lead after a mere 7 minutes into the game.
The Rainmakers certainly had much to discuss at the first quarter’s end as they found themselves in a 18-6 hole, and needing to find some answers on the offensive side of the ball.
With a lack of height, the Rainmakers struggled to find their way to the paint and find some higher percentage buckets. This resulted in the ball being swung around the perimeter in hopes of finding an open jumper through a stingy Piper defence.
The Pipers’ big man Jacob Bassam was able to capitalize on these size differences as he found himself in a ‘mouse in the house ‘scenario on multiple Piper possessions. Any missed jumpers by him or his perimeter teammates were quickly snatched up by the big man and put back up for easy paint buckets.
At half the Pipers held a commanding 33-20 lead.
The halftime chat by the Rainmaker head Coach seemed to spur the boys on as they altered their offensive structure and started to push the pace playing into their quickness strength. A couple quick offensive buckets had the visiting boys building confidence and energy on both sides of the ball. Coach Whitworth didn’t like what he was seeing from his starting 5 and made full lineup changes similar to how coach Nick Nurse has been running his second group Raptors. The second group answered the Coach’s call and was quickly able to turn the game around with with a pair of jumpers from Piper #14.
The 3rd quarter came to a close with a true stuff job as the Rainmakers’ Kole Jones blocked the Piper jumper which was certainly reminiscent of a young Dikembe Mutumbo. The Rainmaker bench certainly had some smiles and high fives for their star PG as he was welcomed back into the team intermission huddle.
The fourth quarter saw a continuous wave of Piper buckets as the game slid away from the visiting Rainmakers. The effort was certainly there, however the Pipers were simply too much for the visitors as the game came to a close at 76-54 Pipers.
Terrific effort by both squads on what was a fantastic way to get the energy going for what is shaping up to be another great No Regrets tournament.
Best of luck to both teams on their upcoming Friday contests.