Burnaby South Secondary and St. Thomas More Collegiate finished with identical records and seedings to close out their respective 2023-24 senior boys basketball campaigns.
The Rebels and Knights both claimed sixth and ended with 2-2 records at the B.C. basketball provincial championships this past weekend.
South, originally ranked seventh at the start of the 16-team tournament, lost its final game of the year by a score of 88-77 to eighth-seeded Yale (Abbotsford) on Saturday, March 9.
The black and yellow advanced to the fifth-sixth place contest after defeating Semiahmoo on Friday, March 8.
Lordrikk Gutierrez closed out the four-day provincials with 81 points in four games, including a double-double (14 points, 11 rebounds) in the final match. The senior earned a second-team all-star nod.
The Burnaby South Rebels' game-by-game results were as follows:
- 88-77 loss to #8 Yale
- 95-85 win over #6 Semiahmoo (Surrey)
- 86-66 loss to #2 Spectrum (Victoria)
- Eventual AAAA champions
- 75-63 win over #10 Lord Tweedsmuir (Surrey)
STM, also placed seventh to begin the championships, fell to the North Delta Huskies in a tight-knit 71-66 contest at the Langley Events Centre.
This following a hard-fought 78-71 victory in overtime over Mark R. Isfeld (Courtenay) on Friday, to advance to the fifth-sixth place game.
Zeru Abera tallied a game-high 27 points in the final game of the season, plus 34 on Friday.
The Grade 11 guard finished with 113 points in four games at provincials and was selected as a second-team all-star.
The STM Knights' game-by-game results were as follows:
- 71-66 loss to #4 North Delta
- 78-71 (OT) win over #11 Mark R. Isfeld
- 89-65 loss to #2 Dover Bay (Nanaimo)
- Eventual AAA champions
- 75-63 win over #10 Grandview Heights (Surrey)
