Saints Hold Off Titans to Advance to 2024 NO REGRETS Boys Tournament Finals
ST GEORGE’S SAINTS VS HARRY AINLEY TITANS
DEC. 13TH, 2024
(photo credit: Blair Shier)
Written by Cam Yates
Pre-game notes
Vancouver’s St. George’s Saints are squaring off against Edmonton’s Harry Ainlay Titans in the 2024 No Regrets boys semi-final at Collingwood School in West Vancouver in what should be an excellent matchup between two excellent programs in the high school hoops scene. Before the game, Titans’ coaches Paul Kuperus and Lenn Gehlert emphasized their team’s balanced attack and that they play their best in transition. St. George’s are also well-known in BC for their fast-paced style of play under coach Guy DaSilva, and are led by one of the most dynamic players in the province in 6'5 senior Dorian Glogovac. Both teams cruised through their quarterfinal matchup via their aforementioned high-powered offenses, with Saints dropping 100 points and Harry Ainlay putting up 105 in lopsided wins. Look for this game to be a competitive and fast-paced one from the tip.
1st quarter
The Albertans waste no time as #1 Kom Majok opens the scoring with a silky smooth and-1 layup. Saints’ #1 Glogovac answers with a pull-up jumper just seconds later. Not to be outdone, Majok comes right back as he nails a deep triple and seems to be getting into the key at will. The Saints respond with their 6’6 sophomore #15 Ian Tyler, who showcases his prowess on the boards with a gritty offensive rebound and put-back. Tyler is fresh off a summer with the U15 provincial team as well as taking home MVP honors at the grade 9 provincial championships last spring - this kid is clearly ready for the jump to the much faster-paced varsity level.
Majok is proving to be too much to handle early for St. George’s. The Titans’ lead guard is making plays all over the court at both ends and has an early 10 points of his own along with a pair of assists as Ainley jumps out to a 15-8 lead.
Hang on though. After falling behind early, the Saints are finding their rhythm midway through the 1st quarter. St. George’s second talented 10th grader, #10 Willem Urban, subs into the game and helps spark some energy into a run for the Saints… Glogovac finds grade 11 forward #23 Roman Simmons in the corner for a 3 pointer before threading an over-the-shoulder pass to Ian Tyler for an easy bucket. 9-0 run, timeout Harry Ainley.
Saints come out of the timeout with a full court trapping press - looks like Coach DaSilva has taken a page out of Shaka Smart’s famed “havoc” press… they rip a couple of steals to make it a 13-0 run.
At the end of the 1st quarter, the Saints lead 27-24, fueled by Dorian Glogovac’s all-around play and some timely contributions from their young core of grade 10s and 11s.
2nd quarter
The frenetic pace continues in the second quarter, but we finally see some sloppy play as both teams struggle with unforced turnovers. The Saints’ Urban gets into a flow with a corner 3 followed by a block in the key on Majok - maybe someone can stay in front of this lightning-quick guard after all. Hang on, I wrote that note too soon - Majok immediately follows this up with a drive-and-dish to 6’7 forward #12 Carson Allen for an easy finish inside.
Coach DaSilva elects to put their press back on and it immediately pays dividends with back-to-back steals, and St. George’s stretches their lead to 8. Harry Ainley looks out of sync against the press but #10 Arjun Patel and big man Carson Allen are keeping them in the game with timely buckets. Majok hasn’t scored in the 2nd quarter yet but is still creating open shots for teammates as the Saints adjust to load up in helpside when he has the ball.
Saints #13 Aryan Salbok makes the fastest transition from a lowlight to a legitimate highlight I’ve ever seen in high school basketball - he backrims an open breakaway dunk - oops - then the Saints promptly get a steal and he posterizes a defender with an emphatic slam, plus the foul. The Saints’ bench is losing it and are tapping their heads with their open hands - I think that’s a Gen Z sign of approval... not sure, I’m getting old. “On his head”, they say. Hmmm. I’ll ask the kids if that’s from one of their Tikky-Toks.
The Saints head into halftime with a 10 point advantage.
Halftime - Saints 46, Titans 36
Leading scorers:
St. George’s Glogovac 16 points
Harry Ainley: Majok 12 points
3rd quarter
The Titans come out firing in the second half, with Majok draining a contested 3-ball and follows it up with a tough lefty layup to quickly cut the lead to 5. However, the Saints have answers of their own from their young talent off the bench. Urban knocks down another corner 3, and then #11 Inno De Cotiis adds a leaning layup to maintain the lead. I imagine De Cotiis feels quite comfortable in the McCord gymnasium, as he torched the Collingwood JV team to pull off an upset win on this court last year.
The pace of the game is relentless until a technical foul is called on Glogovac for flopping - he doesn’t like it but calmly approaches the ref for an explanation as his teammates try to shoo him away.
Play resumes with both teams’ star players, Glogovac and Majok, trading buckets and making plays all over the place. Saints assistant coach Frankie Liu indicated before the game that Willem Urban’s formerly unreliable jump shot has become significantly more reliable of late, and this is proven true as he nails his third corner triple of the game to extend the Saints lead back to double digits. Insider sources (his parents) also told me at half time that this is his first game back from an injury that sidelined him for a couple of weeks.
At the end of the third, the Saints lead 65-55.(The 3rd quarter was tied at 19 apiece.)
4th quarter
The Titans yet again come out swinging in the final frame, as #5 Akhon Deng gets them going with some solid defensive plays and transition buckets. However, the Saints are channeling their inner 7-seconds-or-less-Suns and immediately pushing the ball down to respond in transition and maintain their cushion. For every great play by the visiting Albertan squad, the Saints have had an answer.
Another technical foul is called for flopping, this time on Harry Ainley’s #6 Raihan Nanji. Both coaches seem a bit bewildered but referees Karn Dhillon and Andrii Babyk are two of BC’s finest officials and are not entertaining any protests towards their calls.
Play resumes as Glogovac and De Cotiis combine for a series of transition buckets and then De Cotiis cans a dagger corner 3 to restore the Saints’ 10 point breathing room. The Titans make a final push as time is running out, with #10 Patel converting an and-1 to again cut the lead down to 5 with two minutes left on the clock. A mad scramble for a rebound and Nanji gets fouled… he sinks 1 of 2 to cut the lead to 4, 97-93 with 50 seconds left.
The Titans need a stop… Saints use the clock and Glogovac isos on the wing and nails a tough jumper on the baseline! 99-93 Saints, 21 seconds left.
After some timeouts, fouling, and free throws, Saints seal the win with a final score of 101-93. A great game by both teams as St. George’s advances to the final for the second time in three years and will await the winner of the second semi-final between Nanaimo’s Dover Bay Dolphins and tournament co-host Collingwood Cavaliers.
Final score 101-93
Leading scorers: Dorian 39 pts, Majok 25 pts
Player of the game: St. George’s #1 Dorian Glogovac