Big Ticket 2019: Day 1 Recap
Basketball season is back folks.
The Big Ticket started today with too many games to count across 14 different locations across the Lower Mainland and Fraser Valley. We'll be doing the best we can to recap all the action across the tourney and of course, feel free to follow us on Instagram for up to the minute action.
Junior Girls
Hosts New Westminster scored a huge victory over Earl Marriott to kick off their tourney. Riverside took care of business against Sir Winston Churchill, and Heritage Woods beat McMath comfortable out at Burnaby Mountain.
Out at Pitt Meadows, consistent powerhouse Brookswood defeated the host Marauders in a back and forth contest.
Junior Boys
The Sir Charles Tupper Tigers roared to start the tourney by beating the Handsworth Royals 55-40, and Abbotsford Senior won by 15 out at GW Graham. The host Saint George's Saints won against the visiting Richmond Colts.
Hosts Elgin Park defeated the grade nine North Delta Huskies and Lord Tweedsmuir bested Sardis from Chilliwack. Perhaps a big surprise at Elgin Park was the Vancouver College win over McMath — the Irish are composed strictly of grade nine players. Holy Cross squeaked by Pinetree by just two points.
Senior Girls
Abbotsford Senior and Terry Fox managed to grab some big early wins on the first day, as well as hosts McMath out in Richmond — they beat York House by eight points. Riverside won big in their opener, and Heritage defeated Seycove in what could be considered an upset.
GW Graham beat WJ Mouat in the battle of the Fraser Valley with Sidhu of Mouat having a game-high 21 points. Handsworth squeaked out a victory over upstart Fleetwood 61-53, while Yale handled North Surrey.
Senior Boys
The first day of the game at Killarney saw the hosts go toe to toe with McMath. Midway through the third Killarney was down only one thanks to some clutch three-point shooting, but the Wildcats managed to claw their way to a W. Full credit to Killarney for never giving up in this one.
Mulgrave and Sir Winston Churchill duked it out to a 42-36 score at the half for the Titans. After that, a flurry of Bulldog's points meant they walked away with an 86-76 victory, completing the second-half comeback. Lord Byng and Richmond traded punches in an 11 point Grey Ghost Victory, and in the final game in East Vancouver Saint Thomas Aquinas cruised to a win over North Shore rivals Argyle. The Pipers had trouble breaking down the Fighting Saints zone all night long.
At Abby Senior, Rick Hansen beat North Surrey on the back of Aman Grewal's 21 point game. Abbotsford Traditional battled back from an early 19 point hole to come close but ultimately fell to AAA Pitt Meadows by nine. Ryan Toucas had 19 points for the Marauders. Brookswood narrowly defeated a serious-looking Panorama Ridge team. Mason Berekoff had a team-high 19 points for the Bobcats.
Thomas Haney won their first game of the tournament as a host school by beating David Thompson, and Yale rushed over the Riverside Rapids. Sardis pulled away in the second half against Port Moody. And in a potential big-time AAA preview down at New West, A.R.MacNeill defeated Byrne Creek 89-77. Macdonald Chamboko had a team-high 22 points.
That's it for Day 1, but plenty of more games to be played! Follow us and Front Court Events on Instagram for up to the minute scores and news.
Written by: Nick Bondi