The Kelowna Christian School’s boys basketball team are provincial champions.
On Saturday afternoon, the Knights clinched the 1A provincial basketball championships in an 81-45 victory over Langley’s Credo Christian Kodiaks at the Langley Events Centre.
The victory comes on the heels of a fifth-place finish last year after the team lost in the quarterfinals.
“This year, we had a mission to not let that happen again,” said head coach Daniel Benson.
“We fought all year to get here and everyone (coaches, players, teachers, volunteers) put in extra hours.”
Kelowna Christian came off a sub-standard offensive performance in the semifinals Friday night as they were put to the test by the No. 3 seed Chilliwack’s Highroad Academy Knights. They eventually secured a 58-51 win.
In that game, the Knights shot 31 per cent from the field, which is a rarity for the team.
Benson’s pre-game message was simple: “Shrug it off, that night’s behind us, just come out and play ball.”
And play ball is what his team did.
Kelowna Christian led by 15 after one-quarter and were up 27 at the half before cruising to victory.
The Knights were good on 32 of their 75 shots from the field, which is a 42.7 per cent success rate.
Credo Christian was also coming off an emotional semifinal victory, one which required late-game heroics and double-overtime before they finally knocked off the No. 1 Glenlyon Norfolk Gryphons of Victoria 97-88.
They also needed a stunning fourth-quarter rally in the quarterfinals, outscoring their opponent 36-6 to erase a 15-point deficit.
Indy Hallet, who sank four three-pointers and had 17 points, was named the Championship Player of the Game while teammates Colin Christophe — who led the Knights with 23 points — was named the Tournament’s Most Valuable Player.
The Knights have now won six titles — the most in the history of the 1A tournament — with the most recent title coming in 2016.
In other BC Boys High School Basketball Provincial Championship action, the Prince Rupert Rainmakers defeated the Lake Country Gorge Elliot Coyotes to win the 2A provincial basketball title, the North Delta Huskies beat the Vernon Panthers to win the 3A tournament title, and the Lord Tweedsmuir Panthers defeated the Kelowna Owls in the 4A tournament.