The Lake City Club Basketball’s under-15 boys team were in Kelowna last weekend for a tournament, tying one match and losing three.
Lake City opened with an 80-18 defeat to Calgary’s CBA Cobra. Lake City coach Eron Labadie said it was a challenging game against an extremely good team.
“The boys continued to battle, fight, and work hard,” said Labadie. “Aaron Leaman and Stephen Searcy rose to the challenge fighting for every rebound and loose ball they could get their hands on. Tough start to the tournament.”
Leaman was named player of the game, while Searcy earned the energy player.
Against the Vernon Panthers, Lake City lost 47-37. Bailey Burdick had a strong game with 12 points and 13 rebounds. Leaman chipped in six points, while corralling seven rebounds. Manmeet Dhaliwal had a strong performance, which earned him energy player.
Against Gini U14, the teams tied 51-51. The match went to three, one-minute overtimes.
“Although it was a good game and a hard fought battle, the boys gave up a 12-point lead late in the second half,” said Labadie. “Even as the momentum shifted, the boys never gave up.”
Leading Lake City were Will Casimir-Eneas and Mason Holt who dominated up front. Casimir-Eneas scored eight points to go with 13 rebounds. Holt had 10 points, six rebounds and a block. Jordan Edis came off a tough first day and responded with strong all-around play and energy, chipping in six points and creating several steals. Labadie, playing against a team that heavily recruited him in the off-season, put up 10 points, six rebounds, four steals and a block.
In their final game, the CNB Cubs defeated them 48-46. Casimir-Eneas had another strong game with nine points, eight rebounds and three blocks. Labadie put on an aggressive performance to finish with 12 points, two rebounds and one block. Hunter Parsons was named the energy player for performing with a working attitude, while checking the best players. He chipped in two points, to go with five rebounds and two steals.
U14 girls earn pair of wins
The Lake City U14 girls won two of its four games. They wrapped up the Kelowna Minor Basketball tournament with a 40-24 win over the Legends. Karrah Roelfsema led with 18 points and collected 12 rebounds. Brinay Burdick added 14 points with six rebounds and two steals.
“It was a great weekend for the girls.,” said Lake City coach Chris Terris. “There was a lot of growth both individually and collectively over the four-game period.”
Terris added that Burdick had several breakout moments during the tournament.
“She’s one of those kids who will dominate when she realizes how athletic she is,” he said.
Lake City opened with a 35-20 loss to the Kelowna Thunderbirds. Roelfsema scored eight points to go with 10 boards. Tess Widney chipped in four points, five rebounds.
Lake City bounced back to defeat the Junior Heat, 49-44. Burdick led Lake City with 20 points, while Roelfsema put up 14 points. The Hustle Award went to Abbi Hylins and Burdick was named player of the game.
In their third game, Lake City lost 34-14 to Port Coquitlam. It was a match that Terris said they didn’t match Port Coquitlam’s intensity very well.