A Long Time

Coming

Men’s Basketball Win Provincial

Championships

Douglas College Athletics

L has been a long time coming
for Douglas College’s men’s basketball
program as they returned to the pinnacle
of BC college basketball. In sensational
style, the number one ranked team in
the country defeated the Okanagan
Lakers 73-70 in the gold medal game,
bringing a sigh of relief to the Royals
faithful.

“TJ had to remind myself to breathe,”
said Athletic Director Lou Rene Legge
who watched the nerve-wracking game
and its final second shot. “The exciting
thing about sport is anything can
happen. I’m elated for Jamie Oei and
the men’s basketball program; it’s been
a long time since there has been such
excitement about [Douglas] basketball.”

Saturday night’s victory is Douglas’
first BCCAA basketball provincial title
since 1994 when the program was a
dynasty of sorts, winning Provincial
titles in ‘91, °93, and ‘94.

The road back to the glory days was
not an easy one travelled for the Royals.
Despite a first round bye into the semi-
finals, they faced the host institution
and hometown favourites, the Columbia
Bible College (CBC) Bearcats.

In front of a rowdy crowd that
were still excited from CBC’s victory
on Thursday night over Camosun,
the Royals knew they would have to
push pass the Bearcats’ home court
atmosphere. On the court, Douglas
treated the Bearcats as a formidable
opponent after they had challenged the
Royals in their two earlier meetings this
year.

From the opening tip, the Royals
defused the crowd’s enthusiasm and
crushed the spirits of the CBC hopefuls
as they jumped out to a 29-11 lead by
the end of the first quarter. In the second
quarter, the Royals traded baskets
and had an answer for every big three
pointer that CBC launched.

The most apparent challenge for
the Bearcats was defending BC Player
of the Year (POY), Andrew ‘Monster’
Sturgeon. The ‘Monster’ created an
inside presence that was felt throughout
the entire venue. You could hear the
murmurs of excitement every time he
touched the ball. Living up to his POY
billing, Sturgeon showcased a solid
well-rounded game by hitting mid range
jumpers, punishing defenders in the
post, man handling rebounds (11) and
sending the crowd into a frenzy with
Sports Centre-like slams.

“Now that’s just sick,” said one
CBC fan after Sturgeon connected with
teammate, Justin Adams for an above

the rim alley-oop slam over a CBC
defender. “You have to respect that
[dunk] whether you are a CBC fan or
not.”

Despite a slow third quarter
performance, which saw the Royals’
lead dwindle down to single digit
figures, they managed to withstand the
barrage of three point attempts (34) by
the Bearcats and held on to an 87-70
victory.

The Royals were led by Player of
the Game, Chris Veale who was just
sensational and consistent through the
entire game. Behind 9 of 12 shooting,
Veale’s guard play was relaxed and
poised as he created opportunities for
the Royals time and time again.

“This was a classic Veale
performance,” said Douglas College
alumnus, Adrian Lenahan who came
out to watch his younger brother, Geoff
“Rudy” Lenahan. “This is Veale at
his best. He is creating havoc for the
opponents, grabbing rebounds and
hitting daggers when the team needs
him.”

Veale would finish with a game
high in points and rebounds, 25 and
12 respectively. Graeme McCallum
finished with 19 points and provided the
Royals with a sniper-like shooting from
the perimeter.

In Saturday’s championship game,
the Okanagan Lakers crowd was still
buzzing from the earlier gold medal
performance from their women’s team
who defeated the Langara Falcons. The
Royals knew they would have their
hands full with a disciplined Lakers
team that pushed them earlier this year.

Despite the energy and the buzz in
the crowd, the game began slow as it
was apparent for both teams that they
were playing with big game jitters. The
offence for the Royals didn’t come as
easy as the night before as they had
difficulties connecting with outside
shots as the Lakers sat back in their 2-3

zone in an attempt to cage the ‘Monster’

[Andrew Sturgeon] that roamed inside.

While Okanagan was focusing on
the inside, Graeme McCallum took
full advantage of the open looks from
behind the arc as he connected for five
three pointers on the night and even
gestured a ‘shhh’ to the crowd after
ending a Lakers run by hitting a heavily
contested three point shot.

“In my heart Graeme was an All-
Star,” said Head Coach, Jamie Oei.
“Every time they made a run, he
[Graeme] would hit big shots to keep us
in the game.”

In the second quarter, the Royals
were led by Jevon Boyde-Joseph and

Donald Lindo, who both provided a
spark of the bench with hustle and
complimentary offence to help the
Royals blow open the game with a
30-15 second quarter performance.
The Royals cruised into the half with a
comfortable 40-25 lead.

However, in the third quarter the
Lakers came charging back behind
guard, Marco Dolcetti (19 points) and
forward, Wendall Thomas (13 points
and 11 rebounds). Thomas’ follow up
dunk on a missed shot, sparked a 23-11
run by the Lakers as they managed to
cut the Royals’ lead to three and a 51-
48 score at the cessation of the third.

In the fourth, the atmosphere was
pure madness as the teams battled
back and forth delighting the crowd
and causing fans to erupt with cheers,
banging pots and beating drums. Each
team found a will and a way to answer
the call by hitting clutch free throws
and timely baskets. With the game
tied at 70-70 and only 19.6 second
remaining; the capacity crowd was
standing on their feet in anticipation
of the outcome. Despite their number
one seed in the tournament, number
one ranking in the country and their 19
game winning streak the Royals season
came down to this possession.

Following the time-out, the ball
was handled by guard, Justin Adams,

 

who allowed the clock to trickle down
despite constant pressure from the Laker
defender. With 3.7 seconds remaining,
Adams found an open Chris Veale who
nailed the shot from behind the arc

to give the Royals a 73-70 lead and
ultimately the win. With no time-outs
remaining, the Lakers were forced to
throw up a half-court Hail Mary that
was short of its intended target.

“We didn’t do anything special at
the end of the game. These are guys
that know what play we are running
and the executed it to perfection,” said
Oei. “We played all 12 players in the
finals...which I think is a testament to
our team’s depth. Everyone contributed
something. Hatch [Ryan] had a couple
of key defensive plays and Shane
[Heuring] made some big baskets down
the stretch.”

The Royals were led by Graeme
McCallum’s 23 points and tournament
MVP, Chris Veale who finished with 14
points, 5 assists, and 6 rebounds. The
Royals will begin preparing for their
run at a first National Championship
title in Douglas College history as they
travel to the CCAA National Basketball
Championships hosted by Nova Scotia
Agricultural College in Truro, Nova
Scotia March 14-17, 2007.

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