Latest results from St Bede’s teams in the Canterbury Basketball competition.

All teams are now into championship round robin play and striving for a spot in the playoffs for their respective grades. Moving forward we will keep you posted on how the ladder looks for each grade.

U20 vs Gators Green L 89-99

(James Leen 23. Ashton Walls 20, Griffyn Westwood 16)

U17 Red vs Cashmere Maroon W 83-71

(Lochie McLean 30, Harrison Earl 18, Jacko Siave 16)

U17 Black vs Pioneer Yellow W 92-57

(Max MacLeod 24, Peter Gamble 23, Edan Taylor 17)

U15A vs Rangiora High W 97-57

(Troy Cutbush 26, Douglas Yi 19, Harry Courname 15, Cooper Siave 14, Hugo Smoleji 10)

U15 Black vs Gators Red L 51-100

(Cooper McDowall 19, Finn Pearson 15, Charlie Hatton 11)

U15 Red vs Cashmere 9B W 73-34

(Luca Radovancich, Harry Methven 18, Mitchell Radford 16)

U15 White vs North Canterbury Black L 55-84

(Luca Van Den Heever 18, James Rapson 16)

The senior side lined up in a crucial clash on Tuesday night with the winner of the match against Christchurch Boys’ High cementing a spot in the Thomson Trophy Top 6 playoffs. Preseason rankings had Boys’ High at #3 with our side ranked at #10, therefore being the underdogs for not only this match but to claim a spot in the Top 6.

Buoyed by another strong home crowd, the team bounced out to a 20-6 lead after just a couple of minutes of the first quarter to shock their much-vaunted opponents. Boys’ High were never going to let this run continue and responded with some strong play inside the paint to narrow the margin at quarter time with Bede’s leading by just 2 points.

The second quarter was an arm wrestle with Bede’s in particular struggling to replicate the shooting of the opening quarter, scoring just 10 points during the period and going into the halftime break down 36-39.

Boys’ High burst into the second half with a flurry of baskets and at one point led by 12 points. This spurred the St Bede’s side into some action and a James Leen break away dunk got the crowd excited and the deficit began to decrease. The lead had narrowed by a point at third quarter time so effectively it was anyone’s game heading into the final 10 minutes.

St Bede’s claimed the lead within the opening minute of the quarter however this was brief and the lead changed multiple times during the first few minutes, with neither team able to forge ahead on the scoreboard.

With 1.24 left on the game clock the scores were locked at 79 each with tensions in the gym rising as a nail-biting finish looked set to unfold. The team executed well in the closing stages, scoring on most trips down the court and forcing some crucial turnovers to deny Boys’ High the opportunity to score. On the back of this controlled finish St Bede’s secured a victory 89-84 to the delight of all in the gym and secured a spot in the Top 6.

These playoffs commence next week with a home game against Middleton Grange starting proceedings next Tuesday night at the usual tip off time of 7pm.

Leading contributors to the stats were Ashton Walls with 23 pints after overcoming a twisted ankle, James Leen with 22 points, 5 assists, 7 rebounds and Griffyn Westwood 18 points and 8 rebounds.

The basketball club wish to acknowledge the awesome support we get from our sponsors:

Naylor Love

Southern Collection

Clark Equipment

Plumbing HQ

Physiosouth

ASB Bank

Hughes Irrigation

Looking forward to the hoodies arriving in the next week which will showcase the generous support from these wonderful sponsors. Please support them!!

Thanks very much to Scott Rait for his photography work, continuing to capture the senior team in action during their Thomson Trophy matches. Much appreciated by us all. Love your work Scott!!