On Tuesday, January 21st, St. George’s School was in a frenzy. Staff and students were anticipating a series of four hard fought battles between VC and Saints. The bleachers started filling with fans at the first Bantam Boys game. As the day progressed, the crowd quickly swelled. St. George’s fans represented the school in a respectable manner, displaying strong support for the boys on the floor while remaining respectful towards the opponents.  It was sure to be a day of excitement, passion, and school spirit.

In the Bantam, Juvenile, and Junior Varsity games, Saints played hard and came out on top.  The grade 8 boys seemed nervous since it was their first time playing in front of a large crowd.  However, as the game progressed, the players seemed to settle into the atmosphere and controlled the game, winning 56-46.  The grade 9’s battled hard against VC who seemed to be equally as strong.  By the fourth quarter, VC had tied the game up, triple teaming Saint’s standout Jaden Dewar who dominated the court  throughout the game.  With fierce determination and support from the fans, Saints pulled off a 81-72 victory.  Jaden Dewar led the team with 49 points, also scoring 100% of his free throws.

The Junior Varsity team was victorious with grade 9 Adrian Bacic contributing some deep three-balls. The game went down to the wire with the teams trading baskets until the finish. The saints defense was the key factor in the win denying VC on back-to-back possessions to the end of the game. Owen Pitblado added lots of energy coming off the bench, adding 7 points including 2 clutch free throws in the final minutes making the final score 44-42 for Saints.

From the tipoff, the Varsity guys fought hard against the Fighting Irish. The score spread never exceeded 10  points. In the late fourth quarter, Keith Chow scored two consecutive layups to tie the game. However, the Fighting Irish answered back with just a few seconds left in the game. The Saints called a time out.  After a failed three point attempt, Saints forward Derek Safnuk rebounded the ball and scored, closing the gap to one. With the clock running out, the Irish turned the ball over with a bad pass. Unfortunately the Saints failed to capitalize on the error, and consequently missed the last chance to score. The game finished with a 73- 71 victory for VC.

Senior team member Ethan Scott reflected on the game with these words: “The hardest thing for us as a team is that we let down our fans. Me as a player, I expect more from myself than to lose to our rivals, Vancouver College.  The good thing is that we’ll all take away from the loss.  We’re definitely going to take the W at their place next game. No doubt about it. Our guys are too hungry to win and won’t let anybody else take it from us.” When Ethan was asked about how he dealt with the chants from the VC crowd he answered, “I was not upset at all. I’ve been doubted all my life and had to prove myself in tons of pressure situations.  To have people try and bring me down with some silly chants just makes me go harder. It ignites a killer instinct in me that just goes off.”

It was an intense and bittersweet night for both teams and fans.  The rival schools can’t wait for a re-match, hosted by VC on February 11th . Like the Japadog that showed up at our concession, more surprises surely await us.