For the Duchess Park and College Heights senior basketball teams, first place in the city was up for grabs. In both cases, Duchess found ways to come out on top at the final buzzer.
In high school city league games played Wednesday night at College Heights, the Condors edged the host Cougars 79-73 in boys action. Earlier, the Duchess girls defeated the College Heights girls 74-68.
In a fast-paced and physical boys game that featured multiple lead changes, the Condors used a late offensive explosion to grab the victory. In the fading minutes, they trailed 71-63 but went on a 16-2 scoring run and left the Cougars wondering what had happened to their lead.
Offensively, Grade 11 star Colburn Pearce led Duchess Park with 16 points but was one of five Condors who finished in double digits.
"We're just a lot deeper," Duchess coach John MacDonald said in reference to why his team prevailed. "We go 10 guys and so I think we just wore them down at the end of the game.
"It's always nice to get the win," he added. "The boys played great and College Heights played fantastic."
Nigel Thompson and Ben Shand, with 21 points each, were the big shooters for the Cougars. Teammate Jonah Gilbert drained 11 points in the first quarter and ended the night with 16.
"He killed us in the first quarter," MacDonald said.
In the city league standings, the Condors finished at 3-0 and the Cougars went 2-1. The Kelly Road Roadrunners (1-2) were third and the PGSS Polars (0-3) were fourth. Semifinal games (Duchess vs. PGSS, College Heights vs. Kelly Road) will be played the week after next and the city championship will follow on Feb. 8 at the Northern Sport Centre.
In Wednesday's clash between the Duchess and College Heights girls, the Condors were down by six points at half time, managed to close the gap in the third quarter and won it in the fourth.
"I think Duchess Park just wanted it more than my girls," said Cougars coach Mandy Botham. "They outplayed us, they outworked us. They deserved it - they were definitely the better team (Wednesday) night."
Part of the reason for the Condor comeback was increased pressure on defence.
"We started picking them up full court and looking to run (offensively) when we could," said Duchess Park coach Louise Holmes.
"We know when we play each other it's always going to be an excellent game."
Point guard Brooklyn Nicholson of the Cougars led all scorers with 37 points. Sydney Lopez, an athletic backcourt player for the Condors, countered with 22.
"She's a speedy little thing and highly competitive," Holmes said of the Grade 11 Lopez. "She loves to score. Anytime there's open court and she gets a chance to go, she just goes. She does a super job and has developed her game to get some outside shooting as well."
Going into the contest, the Cougars were ranked fifth in the province in the double-A division and the Condors - last year's B.C. champion - were seventh.
In the city league, the Condors went 5-0 and the Cougars were 4-1. In the semifinals Duchess Park will tip off against fourth-place Cedars Christian (2-3) and College Heights will meet third-place PGSS (3-2).
The girls city final is also scheduled for Feb. 8 at the NSC.
