Senior Boys Basketball ISAs

It’s the most wonderful time of the year! And no, it’s not because it’s almost Christmas time, though that is definitely something Brentwood students and staff alike are happy is true. It is officially the start of the basketball season at Brentwood. All of Brentwood’s teams participated in tournaments near and far last weekend. The Senior Boys hosted this year’s ISA tournament. After scrimmaging against various Island teams, we were looking forward to playing some of the best competition in the province.  The first game was against Southridge School, which won the 3A Provincial Championship last year. Coach Gage emphasized our need to play aggressive defense. He also said the only statistic he wanted to keep track of was rebounds, to validate the effort and hustle the team was putting in. The start of the game was quite slow, as Brentwood could not find a viable attack to Southridge’s zone defense and we failed to play good defense on the other end. However, over time, our full court pressure forced multiple turnovers which led to easy baskets. Also, the team was able to take our time and make reads on offense, leading to wide open layups and three-pointers. The play of the game was when Aaron S, Rogers ‘17 knocked down a buzzer beating three-pointer to end the third quarter. The combination of solid defense and patient offense led to a final score was 73-27 in Brentwood’s favour. As a testament to our hard work, we out-rebounded Southridge 51-20.  The following day, we had back-to-back games, the first against the Collingwood Cavaliers, who won 2A provincials last year. Similar to the first game, we started out slow, but once our defensive energy picked up, the game became much easier. Knowing that there was still another game to play, Coach Gage gave everyone decent playing time to ensure no one was fatigued. Everyone benefited from this strategy, but none more than Somto D, Rogers ‘18 who constantly received the ball in the post, using his many touches to finish and got to the free throw line multiple times. The final score was 95-47. Following the Collingwood game, Brentwood met to rest, re-energize, and refocus before taking on the #1 ranked team from St. Michael’s University School. A Times Colonist news article earlier in the week had said that no team on the Island was going to work harder than SMUS. Coach Gage wanted his team to prove everyone wrong. The first quarter was dominated by the opposition. Bad habits like reaching proved to be detrimental against a team like SMUS, which capitalized on every Brentwood mistake. In the second quarter, however, Brentwood turned the game around. Led by high defensive activity, strong rebounding, and ball movement, the team jumped out to a large lead at halftime. The highlight of the game was when Nathan P, Ellis ‘18 crossed up a SMUS defender and drained a three-pointer that sent the bench and crowd alike into a frenzy. The intensity on both ends dropped in the second half, whether it was due to frustration or tired legs. However, both teams got a lot from the experience and it was a good way to finish off the weekend.    Though the team finished the tournament undefeated, both players and coaches admit that we are nowhere near a finished product and we still have a lot of work ahead. Next week, we will head to Chilliwack to G.W. Graham to participate in their annual tournament, where several of the best teams the province has to offer will face off in what is expected to be a great few days of basketball. This will give the team a great indicator of where we stand and what areas we need to improve on. Wish us luck!  Mide O, Privett ‘18