It was basketball nirvana over the Jan. 11 weekend in Vernon, as the Fulton Maroons hosted their 24th annual Corporate Classic senior boys tournament.
Eight teams, split into two pools, battled amongst themselves on Thursday and Friday, before the top teams played against one another on Saturday to crown a champion.
Participating in the tournament were the Vernon Panthers, host Fulton Maroons, Aberdeen Hall Gryphons (Kelowna), Sa-Hali Sabres, South Kam Titans, Westsyde Whundas (Kamloops), Nechako Valley Vikings (Vanderhoof) and the Summerland Rockets.
Day one saw Fulton open the tournament with a defeat at the hands of the Sabres, 86-52. Next up, the Panthers were able to dominate the Gryphons, 91-66, off the back of big six-foot-five-inch-tall, 260-pound behemoth Mark Johnson and his 28 points.
To round out the rest of the games on Thursday, Westsyde, who are fourth in the AA B.C. High School basketball rankings, beat South Kam, 70-56 while the Rockets blasted to a 87-52 win over the Vikings. Summerland is ranked ninth in AA in the province.
Friday, the Whundas brought the beat-down to Aberdeen Hall, 109-73, to start the morning. The Panthers were next to take the court and, despite 19 from Johnson, the Titans were able to handily dispatch VSS, 71-51.
The Maroons, in their second game, had their offence desert them in a 55-35 loss to the Vikings. They followed up that game with scoring just 39 in their final pool game, losing to the Rockets, who scored a 76-39 victory.
Westsyde powered past the Panthers 76-39 in each of their final matchups of the day.
On Saturday, Fulton started play against the Gryphonsin the game between 0-3 teams. The Maroons would end the tournament off on a good note, defeating Aberdeen Hall, 89-76. A balanced offensive attack was the key to victory, as Ajal Mriduraj (33), Jeremy Peterson (22), and Heatly Jeffers (15) all scored in double figures.
VSS played next, in the battle for fifth place. They were outgunned, 81-74, by the Sabres.
The Vikings took the bronze medal north, defeating the Titans 44-35, and in a tight and tense final game, the Rockets were able to eke out an impressive 81-72 victory over the Whundas to claim the championship. Pacing the way for Summerland was guard Desi Duchek, who scored 31 points, including 13 in the final quarter. Troy Issacs drained five threes on the way to 25 points, while the Whundas leading scorer was Kiyo Brown with 20.
The Maroons next league matchup is Tuesday, Jan. 16 against the Kalamalka Lakers, while the Panthers face off against the Yale Lions from Abbotsford on Thursday, Jan. 18.
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