Day 4 Recap

Round 4 recap on DRIVE

2 great games last night, only 1 more left. Let's roll...

St. George's Saints vs Handsworth Royals

Great game all around. I thought the TSN turning points were when Don Lee hit his 3 pointers. The first one in the 3rd quarter to spark the Royals run. Then another in the 4th to stop the Saints run and bring it home for the Royals. My personal opinion is that the Saints got the short end of the stick in terms of the officiating. The final tally was 18-11 personal fouls called in favor of the Royals. 12 of those 18 fouls called in the decisive 2nd half. I wouldn't go so far as to say that was the reason why the Royals won, but the referees were not calling it both ways. There were also several bad no calls against the Saints as well.

Bol Kong had another amazing performance. He's so long and athletic, it's crazy. I think he's good enough to start on most mid-major Div1 schools, we'll wait and see what his next move is. The Saints needed a lot more from Murphy tonight, finished with 9 points and 2 assists. Not exactly the statline you expect from the best point guard in the province. In fact, if you read my previous recaps, Murphy struggled all week. Something was going on with him, physically or mentally I don't know, but he simply wasn't there at all this week.

Robert Sacre may have been the player of the game, but Scott Leigh was just as good if not better. After getting owned by Murphy at the HSBC finals, Leigh came out playing like he had something to prove and he simply showed up Murphy this time. He was hitting 3 pointers, mid-range jumpers, fast breaks, he was everywhere last night, best game I've seen him play all year. Quinn Keast struggled with his shot, but did everything else, tough on the glass and shared the ball well. Don Lee as mentioned hit the 2 key 3 pointers that swung the momentum both times.

It has to be extremely disappointing for Brian Lee and his Saints team to come away empty again this season, especially disappointing in that they won't even be in the final. If you look at the teams he's had, this was the year they were meant to win. A weaker field overall, 2 of the best players in the province. Not sure where the Saints go from here as a team. They won't be a top 5 team next year without Kong, Murphy, and MacKay who are all graduating. Rumors of Nathan Yu joining them, but they're still rumors at this point. Vancouver College might be good enough to take the Independent League next year as well.

Brookswood Bobcats vs Kitsilano Blue Demons

After Kits raced to an early lead, Brookswood did a good job slowing the game down and playing their game. I thought the Bobcats did a good job containing Nurse and Cochran for the most part, but the Blue Demons bench came up big. The Bobcats started the 3rd quarter just on fire taking the lead. But the Blue Demons would answer back with almost 20 points in 6 minutes to regain the lead, one they would never relinquish. As with the St. Georges/Handsworth game, I though the officiating was pretty one-sided especially in the 2nd half. The Blue Demons got the benefit of several calls putting Cochrane and Woodham on the line. On the other side, Bath and Malish were getting mauled and would get 1 out of 3 called. Again, I don't think that the Blue Demons won because of the officiating, but it certainly gave them an advantage in the 2nd half.

Both Brent Malish and Graham Bath had awesome games again. But they were obviously frustrated by the officiating late in the game. John Pankratz was probably a distant third in terms of talent on the team. Malish will be a solid addition to UBC, when he's on, he's unstoppable, he's an absolute monster on the glass as well.

The Blue Demons are so deep and versatile. After a great day yesterday, Nurse struggled today. But others stepped up like Clayton Crellin (Slam dunk winner as well). But Niko Cochran is the real key to the team. He creates so much for the team on offense. Everyone else feeds off his penetration. Paul Woodham had a great game statistically. He made his shots when he was open.

Finals Preview

The final game should be a fantastic game. Kitsilano beat Handsworth early in the season at the NSIT. Handsworth would avenge that loss in the semifinals of the HSBC Classic a wee later.

The Blue Demons are a perimeter shooting team, they have to hit their shots from beyond, that's obvious. The key in the NSIT win for the Blue Demons in Dec was Sacre in foul trouble sitting most of the 1st half. I don't think the referees are going to allow that to happen this time. So, the Blue Demons will have to find a way to put a body on Sacre for the full 40 minutes. That's going to be tough as Woodham and Isic were no match for Bath and Malish, Sacre will be much tougher.

For the Royals, Keast and Leigh will need to find a way to stop both Cochran and Nurse. I think they will need to focus on Cochran, he's the one that generates everything offensively. On offense, Sacre should get his 20 or 30+, but one of Keast and Leigh will have to score double digits if they want to win.