(BOYS) Collingwood Cavs fall short in quarter-final vs. Pitt Meadows Marauders

Pitt Meadows vs Collingwood

Written by Rahim Pendleton

The Pitt Meadows Marauders enter enemy territory as the Collingwood Cavaliers play host in the winners bracket for a tantalizing Friday night matchup. A couple of early miscues for the Marauders finds the Cavaliers to a quick 10-4 jump led by Floor general #4 as the raucous West Van crowd lets their presence be heard. He has paced the offense early finding open teammates for two quick assists and shows some poise with a nice pull-up jimmy in transition. 

A calming timeout for the Marauders at the 4minute mark sees a quick 7 pts from Pierce Radke to close the gap and tie the game at 11. With the Cavs on their heels, #8 continues to wreak havoc on the defensive end and strips Lachlan for the 2nd possession in a row and take it the length of the floor for the big And 1 finish to ignite the Pitt Meadow parents into a frenzy: End of Q1 18-11.

The second quarter opens with big Will Zhang hitting a Kareem-like dream shake in the post, as the Cavaliers look to chip away at the lead. The Marauders are forced to change their offensive looks as the Cavaliers shift into a zone, and find some success through some crafty interior passing by #4. The teams continue to trade buckets but the Marauders continue to get a great spark from Ryan Touga as he shows off his two way game with a big steal and back to back 3s on offensive possessions. He lets the home crowd know just how many points that shot is worth with a 3 sign in the air. The battle between Lachlan and Iman on Pitt looks like it may be a deciding factor in this game, as the Cavaliers look to their General amidst an 8-0 run to cut the lead to 30-29 with one minute left. Despite tough defense by Pitt, Lachlan’s pressure continues to open up looks for his team while he keeps the ball on a string on his determined drives to the hoop. Barry Castelli for the Cavs hits a big jumper late and is making a difference in the interior, as the Cavs take a 31-30 lead heading into halftime.

Halftime Fact: Contrary to popular belief, there is no tree named the Colling, which begs the question where does the wood come from?

As the 2nd half begins, you can feel the energy as defense chants fill the gym and a berth in the semi finals is on the line. A sloppy start for the Cavs sees the Marauders jump out to an early 8-0 run capped with #6 Euro stepping his way to a bucket and an assist like your Manu Ginobili . A much needed timeout from Coach Andy Wong shifts dynamo Lachlan Collins to shooting gurad and Nic Wrixon to PG sparking a mini run to close the gap back to a 2 point lead. After trading baskets and a turnover, a monstrous block from Evan Bawa and subsequent layup on the other end from Brendan Pardy shifts the momentum back in the favor of the Marauders to close the 3rd quarter with a 5pt lead. PM48 –CW 43

Friday night, high school basketball, a berth in the semi finals on the line, it deosnt get much better than this folks. The desperation is real for the Cavs as Collins continues to force his way into the paint and force the game into the hands of the referee. A hard foul from the Marauders #1 sees Lachlan do his best Karate Kid impression while bouncing off the floor and trimming the Pitt lead back down to 4 with his made free throws. The Marauder balance proved too much as that’s as close as the Cavs would get as they ran out of gas like Lebron James vs the Celtics in 2008. The Marauder defense was locked in like the Raptors in 2019 which forced the Cavs guards into multiple turnovers resulting in lopsided 4th Q spread: Final Score PM 78 CW 63