Drumlin Heights wins western title
Yarmouth County school defeats host Annapolis West to win Division 3 banner
It was an exciting weekend of basketball at the senior boys Division 3 western regionals at Annapolis West Education Centre, where Drumlin Heights Consolidated School of Yarmouth County defeated the host Wolfpack 92-78 in the final.
Both Drumlin Heights and AWEC advance to the Division 3 provincials, which will be held the first weekend of March in Halifax.
Six teams from across the southwestern part of the province competed in the western regionals, including St. Mary’s Bay Academy ( Weymouth), Lockeport, North Queens, Clare, Drumlin Heights and host AWEC.
The eventual finalists – Drumlin Heights and AWEC – developed a nice rivalry this season with Drumlin winning two of the three previous encounters.
“We knew going into this game what we could expect,” said AWEC coach Ryan Scranton. “Drumlin are a big team who move the ball well, use their big guys inside. and have the ability to shoot.”
Drumlin Heights took an early lead but, when 6’ 7” forward Dylan Landry got into foul trouble, their coaches Ron Crowell and Anton Lorde sat him in the second quarter. This opened the window enough for AWEC to work the ball inside and bring the host team back into the game. AWEC went into halftime with a 41-37 lead.
“Our guys were able to control a lot of rebounds for secondchance points with Landry off the court,” said Scranton. “He is a big physical presence on both ends of the floor so he is always someone that we need to pay attention to.”
The second half opened with a flurry of activity, including two three-pointers from Drumlin Heights guard Joel Cull. Cull continued with the hot hand, amassing 22 points in the third quarter, helping his team to a 71-54 lead. With the start of the fourth quarter, the momentum shifted once again. Led by strong inside shooting by Currie, AWEC pulled back within four points before Drumlin sealed a 92-78 win.
Division 3 provincials will be hosted by Halifax Grammar School March 2-3.