Things "Heat Up" at Collingwood vs. Belmont Sr. Boys Game

COLLINGWOOD CAVALIERS VS BELMONT BULLDOGS 

DEC. 8TH 6:45 PM @ COLLINGWOOD

Written by Cam Yates

Pre-game notes

A second round matchup between the co-host Collingwood Cavaliers and Langford’s Belmont Bulldogs should be an exciting one. Both teams like to play a fast-paced style of play and have multiple knock down shooters. The Cavs will be looking to use their depth with their rolling five man substitutions, while the Bulldogs have a talented but tighter rotation to rely on. The Cavs are coming off a blowout win in the first round over Port Moody while the Bulldogs defeated Lord Tweedsmuir in a back-and-forth affair. 

1st quarter 

Belmont gets off to a hot start. #8 Ryder Greenwood opens the scoring with an “and 1” and #7 Leo Manenti cans a triple for the visitors. Belmont is playing some stifling man-to-man defense and the Cavs are struggling to get good looks. Collingwood coach Andy Wong elects for his first line of subs just four minutes into the game, looking to energize his team as they face an early 10-2 deficit. 

The Cavs settle into the game and whittle away at the lead before making another round of substitutions. The Cavs sharpshooting #14 Cy Bosa cans a triple to give the home team their first lead of the game! 16-15 Cavs. 

In the first round, Belmont largely relied on transition opportunities to score the majority of their points - here, we get to see them execute their half court sets with precision as they find #3 Lance Cabal wide open on a backdoor cut. The Cavs answer with grade 11 guard #15 Louis Dhingra sinking a catch-it-high, shoot-it-high triple.

At the end of the 1st quarter, Collingwood leads 21-18. 

2nd quarter

Belmont’s #10 Aman Parmar sinks a triple to knot the score at 21, and it’s all Bulldogs early in the second. Did I mention stifling man-to-man defense? Hats off to Belmont, they are putting on a defensive clinic. The Cavs are struggling to execute in the halfcourt and the visitors regain their lead with a 12-0 run. We’re halfway through the 2nd quarter and the Cavs have yet to score. To make matters worse, the Cavs senior star guard and first round Player of the Game, #5 James Holm, heads to the bench with three fouls. 

The second quarter comes to a close with the Cavs scoring a single free throw - it’s 32-22 Belmont. Look for coaches Wong and Ross to make adjustments in the second half as they search for a way to get their offense going.

HALFTIME

Leading scorers:

Belmont #7 Leo Manenti 10 points

Belmont #3 Lance Cabal 9 points

Collingwood #14 Cy Bosa 5 points

3rd quarter

The second half gets underway with the Bulldogs scoring a nice pick-and-roll with Greenwood and Manenti. The Cavs’ Bosa answers for 3 for some much-needed offense, and another triple by #10 Finn Murphy! The lid has come off the rim; here we go! The Cavs get a boost from #4 Brek Ball as he banks in a floater… 38-32 Belmont.

But hang on… what’s this? As Belmont goes to inbound, the fire alarm… yes, no joke… the fire alarm goes off. White lights flashing, alarms ringing, everyone looking around in confusion. I get to involve myself in this game story as yours truly takes the microphone and asks the 100 or so folks in attendance to evacuate the building. Referees Karn D. and Alain R. grab the game ball, I hold on to the scoresheet, both teams’ coaches take pictures of the scoreboard aaaand out we go into the cold. I did say coaches Wong and Ross would look to make adjustments in the 2nd half but this is next-level mind games. Okay, I’m kidding, but this experience is surreal. 

As everyone exits the building to the main entrance of the Morven campus, coaches, players, family, and fans laugh and joke at the absurdity of the situation. The Cavs players change out of their game shoes and pile into cars to stay warm. The Bulldogs grab jackets from the lost and found and eventually head to their team bus after huddling together in the cold for a few minutes. One might deem this a character-building exercise… hey, at least it’s not pouring rain!

With all due respect to the West Van Fire Department, they do take over 12 minutes to show up despite there being a fire hall 3 minutes down the road… hmmm. They are required to do a full building search, so the game is delayed for just over half an hour before the alarm is switched off. Insider sources would later tell me the sprinkler compression system malfunctioned. Eventually, the players and fans head back inside and the referees and coaches agree on a three minute re-warmup before play finally resumes. Unfortunately, the bright white flashing lights are not turned off, so this will be an added distraction for both teams during free throws for the remainder of the game.

Post fire-alarm 3rd quarter

Play resumes at 8:16 pm (91 minutes after tipoff) with 5:42 on the game clock in the 3rd quarter. Both teams' coaches have done their best to galvanize their teams and make sure they come out of this bizarre situation with energy. Belmont’s #10 Chase Leader opens the scoring, but the Cavs’ 6’5 forward Logan Albiani responds with a layup off a baseline set. Leader scores again to push the lead to 11, and this is James Holm’s 4th foul. The Bulldogs are in the driver’s seat with a 52-43 lead heading into the final frame.

4th quarter 

Cy Bosa opens the final frame with a triple, and a minute later, another one! This is the much-needed scoring punch the Cavs have been searching for all game. #8 Sam Calder scores a bucket in transition but Belmont inbounds quickly and Cabal responds with an “and 1” to stifle the momentum for the Cavs. 

Belmont correctly adjusts and starts closing out harder on Bosa, but he pump fakes and drives for a spin move off the glass. 60-55 Bulldogs. A short while later, Manenti scores a tough layup plus the foul, but gets hit with a tech for excessive celebration. The Italian sensation looks in bewilderment at the Canadian referees penalizing his expression of passion. Tough break for Belmont as that’s his 4th foul as well. 

Bosa drains another triple! The bench and crowd are fired up but Belmont calmly responds by finding Greenwood down low… Collingwood just can’t get the stops they need and they are running out of time to be trading baskets.

Manenti fouls out with exactly 2:00 on the game clock, and Holm goes 1 for 2 at the charity stripe to cut the lead to four, 68-64. Another basket by the Bulldogs and Coach Wong calls timeout for the Cavs. They execute with precision to find Bosa for yet another 3-pointer from the corner - it’s a one possession game!

The Cavs regain possession with a chance to tie it up - Holm drives and kicks, but the ball slips out of a teammate’s hands with 10 seconds remaining on the game clock. On the ensuing inbound, the Cavs nearly get a tie up with the possession arrow favouring them but a foul is called… Collingwood fans can’t believe the call and there were certainly some tough breaks for the Cavs late in the game but referees Karn and Alain are two of the best in the province. Cabal goes 1 for 2 with 2.1 seconds on the game clock to push the lead to four and seal the deal.

What a game! A fantastic effort by both teams to stay focused throughout a unique situation and credit to Belmont for an outstanding display of man-to-man defense and timely composure to weather multiple comeback efforts by the Cavs. #14 Cy Bosa led the way for the Cavs with 25 points, including 15 in the 4th quarter, while Belmont’s #3 Lance Cabal is selected as Player of the Game with 21 points.

Collingwood will take on Kelowna's Mt. Boucherie tomorrow in consolation action while Belmont advances to the semi-final against the pre-season #1 AA Pacific Academy Breakers.