Vikings claim junior boys basketball title
Things are most certainly looking up when it comes to the Vanier boys basketball program, with the high school junior boys basketball championship offering just the latest example. The Vanier Red Vikings roared out to a 39-26 lead at halftime against the Central Gold Cyclones and held off a second-half charge by their city final opponents to take a 70-60 victory in the title contest Mar. 7 at Vanier. The win capped off a stellar season for Vanier Red, who turned their first place finish in the regular season into championship gold. “We were the underdogs two years ago when we came out and won it, so I never took it for granted we were going to win this one until that buzzer rang,” said Vikings coach Mark Bevan. “But our boys came out and played great and got the job done. It was awesome.”
Vanier’s overall balance was on display on the scoresheet – the Vikings were led offensively by Nathan Meili with 19 points, while D.J. Agapay scored 18, Rainer Olson 17, Rayann Cabral 15 and Kyle Gotana 11. “This year, this group of Grade 10s are one of the best groups fundamentally and with the drive to learn and do everything properly,” lauded Bevan. “Practices this year were great, they always practiced hard. This was probably the best team I’ve coached when it came to pure talent, it was awesome.”
Max Coulson used his size and strength inside to dominate the paint, racking up 34 points in the process to lead the Cyclones. Dylan Boughen had 17 points for Central and Ryan Vincent added 15.
Given the Vikings’ success in the senior league this season – they finished tied for second place with Peacock in the regular season standings – having a talented crew of players moving up to bolster their ranks could make things interesting down the road.
“We have some good players moving up to senior, so there could be some good seasons coming up here,” said Bevan.
“We were the underdogs two years ago when we came out and won it, so I never took it for granted we were going to win this one until that buzzer rang,”