The Big Ticket: Senior & Junior Boys Semifinals

**Don't forget to purchase your tickets to the Semis and Finals at venuekings.com**

Junior Boys

Rick Hansen Hurricanes vs. Sir Charles Tupper Tigers

Both teams traded points in the first, as neither team could gain a significant lead. The second saw the Tigers and Hurricanes drive to the bucket without retribution, as they got layups it seemed with ease.

With Tupper up by two late in the third, it set the stage for a tense fourth quarter. With a minute left, the Tigers got a six point lead on the back of some great defence.

Final score was 56-58 for Tupper with Dane Manrell being named Player of the Game. They'll play in the final tomorrow.

Burnaby South Rebels vs. Churchill Bulldogs

The Rebels raced out to a 9-2 lead before the Bulldogs could catch their breath. Burnaby South pounded the paint and really gave Churchill all they could handle.

With an 11 point lead in the second half, Burnaby South were relentless. Although they didn't extend their lead — they actually decreased it by one — they were able to defend the paint exceptionally well and limit Churchill to just highly contested shots.

The Rebels took this one 69-59 and will play Charles Tupper tomorrow in the Junior Boys final.

Senior Boys

GW Graham Grizzlies vs. Argyle Pipers

With a spot in the finals on the line, the home Grizzlies held a slender two point lead after the first. The Pipers would tie it up at 15 early in the second, and would take the lead via a deep three. GW would get even at 18, and from that point on the two sides the teams battled for every loose ball. A late run by GW would see them lead 37-28 at half.

Argyle turned it on in the third, going on a 13-4 run to start to tie it up at 41. It would stayed tied at that for close to three minutes before a flurry of points tied it once again at 47. But a big three by GW got them a four point lead heading into the fourth. The Grizz would get up to 12 at the 4:00 mark and hold on from then on.

The Grizzlies will play Saturday after their 75-60 victory.

Richmond Colts vs. Abbotsford Panthers

Abby preyed on the Panthers in the opening few minutes, pouncing on every opportunity to drive to the rim. But the Colts answered back, going on a 19-4 run to to take an improbable three point lead and eventually win the first quarter 25-20.

The second had the Panthers tie it up at 29, and both teams battled hard before a corner three from Abby gave them back the lead. The Score was 49-45 at the half despite a last second three from Richmond that sent the bench into a frenzy.

The second half had enough drama for an entire day. After both teams tied it at 60 late in the third, the Panthers proceeded to go on on a 15-3 run, and led by nine. With the score 84-79, Richmond never gave up and traded buckets with Abbotsford. It looked like this game was destined to go to overtime, and Richmond had their chance. The Panthers missed the long inbound and it went straight to the Colts in prime three point range, but the shot just missed the target. Abbotsford took it 98-95 and will play GW Graham in the final tomorrow.

**Don't forget to purchase your tickets to the Semis and Finals at venuekings.com**

Written by: Nick Bondi