All their players were in uniform. With a full complement of bodies, the Duchess Park Condors were too strong for the Nechako Valley Vikings.
Saturday in Vanderhoof, the Condors topped the host Vikings 73-58 in the double-A boys basketball zone championship game. Top-seeded Nechako Valley had beaten Duchess Park twice earlier in the season but, on those occasions, the Condors were missing some of their key starters because of other commitments or injuries.
Eric Kidwell, one of those starters, was a big factor this time around. His presence allowed the Condors to use a man-to-man defence against the Vikings instead of their more traditional zone defence. And, man-to-man, Kidwell helped limit Nechako Valley star Riley Wallace to just eight points.
"Eric is an outstanding one-on-one defender," said Duchess Park coach Dave Holmes. "He was a first all-star and he was the top defensive player of the tournament so he had an outstanding weekend."
Kidwell was away for volleyball the first time the Condors played the Vikings this season. The next time, he was out of the lineup because of a concussion.
In the zone final, the Condors were up 39-28 at half-time and held the lead the rest of the way. With about three minutes left on the clock, the Vikings did get back to within eight points but then Luke Holmes drained a three-pointer to quash the comeback attempt.
Tournament MVP Montell Lindgren led Duchess with 22 points and Luke Holmes added 14.
Earlier in the tournament, the Condors defeated the D.P. Todd Trojans 57-45 and downed the College Heights Cougars 57-43.
Duchess Park will be the lone north central representative at the provincial championship tournament, March 7-10 in Kamloops.
"It's going to be fun," Luke Holmes said. "We have a lot of experience playing in provincials. I've gone down twice before [as a junior] and most of us have had that experience. It will be interesting to see how we handle it."
n On Friday night, the coaches of the College Heights team were involved in a collision with another vehicle while they were on their way to Vanderhoof. One coach was uninjured and the other suffered a broken leg.
