Brooks Secondary School’s Thunderbirds grade eight basketball team went to the North Island playoffs recently and faired well to place third overall.
In the first game, point guard Ben Carlson repeatedly stole the ball and then drove to the net to score all of the Thunderbirds’ first 11 points in their decisive 40-22 victory over the Highland squad from Comox in the quarter-final matchup. Guards Keaton Mastrodonato and Ethan Schmunk similarly caught fire in the game’s third quarter.
Unfortunately, after such a good start, Thunderbirds could not maintain their momentum against the top-ranked Phoenix from Campbell River in their second game. Within minutes of the starting jump ball the Brooks team found itself in foul trouble. Phoenix then pulled ahead (at one point late in the second quarter leading Brooks by a score of 24 to 9). Power forward Casper Poelen shone in the second half, ending up not only the game’s high scorer (21 points) but also dominating on the boards where he pulled down no less than a dozen rebounds. But despite the strong third-quarter rally, where the Thunderbirds closed the gap to just four points, the Brooks boys couldn’t gain the advantage. In the end, Campbell River beat Powell River decisively by a score of 54 to 44.
In their third matchup, however, Brooks looked and played like a well-oiled machine against Lake Trail. The defence was tight and the offence coordinated. Time and again quick-handed guards Isaiah Brach, Daniel Hoelzley, and Ben Carlson stole the ball from the Lake Trail squad to either set up fast breaks or to feed forwards Poelen and Donovan Savage who scored eight and six points respectively. But the star of the game was undeniably Mastrodonato. Not only was the five-foot five-inch guard the game’s high scorer, sinking three jump shots, two lay ups, and five foul shots, he also led his team in five rebounds. And while most of Mastrodonato’s points came from shots taken inside the paint, his last basket was an impressive jump shot from outside the three-point line, a feat that was likewise accomplished by Schmunk, Brock and Savage. Also catching the crowd’s attention (and a cheer from the bench) was Ben Carlson’s successful attempt at an old-school-style “granny shot” free throw.
Other strong performers in the game against Lake Trail were Neave McKinnon, Eli Carson and Matt Ure. Playing against much bigger checks, McKinnon and Carson both fought inside the key drawing timely fouls and sinking important free throws, while Ure popped an impressive jump shot from the right wing.
Brooks anticlimactically won their last game (to place third overall) after Courtenay’s Vanier team who decided to default and leave the tournament early due to concerns that falling snow would make driving home at the end of the day dangerous.
However, the Highland and Phoenix coaches mustered five players apiece and collectively challenged the Thunderbirds to an exhibition game to end the tournament. Powell River beat the combined Campbell River/Comox squad by a score of 43-37 with Poelen again being the game’s high scorer by racking up 22 points.
Restricted ferry schedules prevented the Thunderbirds from travelling to the island to square off against any of the teams in their division prior to this past weekend’s tournament. “That was a factor at the playoffs,” said Mitch Savage, one of the Thunderbirds’ two coaches.
Keith Carlson, the boys’ other coach, noted that “our team was really strong. If things had gone just a little differently, they could very well have beaten Phoenix and then gone on to place first.”
Big things are expected in coming years as the current grade eight team moves through the grades.
