The Highland Raiders senior boys basketball team pulled out all the stops the past two weekends at North Island and Island AA championships.
For another season, Highland had to suffer harsh disappointments to get to the Islands. In the first Island ranking of the year Highland was fourth based on last year's results, but after some player losses, they crept right off the ranking radar until the final week and went to Islands ranked seventh.
Early in the season, 6'6" James Jerzinski suffered a terrible ankle injury and the team lost a huge presence in the paint. Jerzinski was averaging 20 points per game before his injury.
With only seven players on the roster, the Raiders finished in second spot in league play. Highland went to AA North Islands ranked North #2 and played host Mid-Island #3 host team Wellington.
Wilford Arao Arao started the Raiders off strong with their first eight points of the game and Grade 10 Alec Molander was an important physical presence the team needed and scored 13 points, including three three-pointers. This was Highland's only loss of the tourney. It was a six-point defecit at the final buzzer.
The Raiders faced Cedar the following day and came out strong. Noah Lewis had a powerhouse game offensively (32 points) and completly shut down Cedar's main scoring threat. This game started the Raiders on their winning streak.
The next game was Woodlands and guards Arao Arao, Braydon Cochrane and Angus Ireland all shot lights out, each adding threes to the scoreboard. Ben Collin put up crucial points and made important steals. D.J Johnson was a monster on rebounds and Nick Tancon's crushing blocks had the Woodlands boys settling for outside shots.
After taking this game Highland had secured a spot at Islands but had another crack at Wellington for third place. Coach Murray Erickson was ready, and Lewis and Tancon outmatched Wellington's big men who had done the Raiders some harm in the first meeting. Ireland's control of the play and key baskets were exactly what Highland needed.
Junior Bryce Marinus' amazing speed caused some key turnovers and Grade 10 Aaron Simmonds played really tough under the boards, drawing important fouls. Frustration set in for Wellington as Highland secured third place with one of the team's finer games. The Highland boys all stayed to cheer on their Isfeld friends as they played in the final against Ladysmith. Isfeld and Highland went to Islands in second and third place. respectively.
During the week heading to Islands, the boys lost three senior players for the first game of the tournament due to other commitments. With only four senior players for the first game of Islands, the junior team stepped up again and Simmonds, Marinus and Molander saw first-hand what senior level competition was like, especially when dealing with South Island private schools such as the first team they would play 鈥� St. Michaels.
With this school being Steve Nash's alma mater the school is glowing with basketball tradition. The SMUS bleachers were full and the team bench was three times the size of the Raiders'. The Raiders held their own in the first half, but with SMUS' three-point shooting threats everywhere, and being able to send fresh recruits in to press the entire game, the going was tough. Lewis came away with 28 and Tancon 15 in a battle where they were given no breathing room.
The Raiders then faced the hIghly ranked Gulf Islands team. This team had just come off a huge upset angainst fourth-ranked Shawnigan Lake at the South Island championships and they were highly regarded on the Island as they had maintained the top five-six ranking all season.
Again Arao Arao was phenomenal. He sunk four three-pointers and played lock-down defence. Cochrane again took some solid charges and put crucial points on the board. "This was a whole team effort," said coach Erickson.
The final game of the tournament was a tough way to end for Highland. The Raiders played Lambrick and started strong, but the sheer length of Lambrick's bench was tough to match. Fresh legs were subbed in often and Highland had trouble finding an answer for all of Lambrick's threats. While the season ended in a loss, the boys should be proud of a fifth place finish, (tied with Isfeld). Lewis came away with Island all-star honours, a team spokesperson noted.
"The team really thank Adam Erickson for taking on the practices of the junior and senior boys in the early season and teaching them all so much before having to leave the Valley for work," the spokesperson said. "Thank you to Steve Cochrane for always stepping in to coach in times of need (such as flat tires and delayed flights).
"The players and parents especially thank coach Murray Erickson who not only coached the seniors but the junior team too. With an extremely busy schedule of his own, Murray managed to find time to coach kids in the community," noted the spokesperson.
"Many parents from other teams said they loved to listen to Murray on the bench because of how positive and encouraging he was with the boys at all times."
鈥� Highland Raiders basketball
