As is typically the case for many people over the holidays, the last month of the year was particularly packed for the Caledonia Kermodes boys basketball teams.
The boys team continued their winning ways with solid victories over Nechako Valley Vikings and Charles Hays Rainmakers to win their Kermode Classic Tournament on Dec. 14 and 15.
A good size crowd came to watch the Kermodes take on rival Rainmakers Friday night—and they were not disappointed as the Kermodes fought back from an early deficit to coast to a 83 - 53 victory.
The Rainmakers came out on fire in the first quarter, taking a 23 -18 lead going into the second quarter on the hot shooting of Jag Minhas.
But the Kermodes held the Rainmakers to just 8 points in the second quarter while the Kermodes poured in 29 points to take a 47 - 31 lead at the half.
And Caledonia did not let up in the second half, outscoring their rivals 36 - 21 as they rolled on to defeat the Rainmakers.
In scoring, the Kermodes were lead by Marcus MacKay with 31 points, Reegin Maki with 19 points and Kynan Finnie with 10 points.
Earlier in the day the Grade 11 Kermodes took on the Centennial Christian Seahawks.
The Seahawks worked hard but the Kermodes were hard to stop, and rolled to a decisive 68 - 28 win.
In scoring, Kermodes were lead by Cam Netzel with 24 points and Tristan Walker with 15 points.
The Seahawks were lead by Vidar Sandhals with 12 points.
In the final game of the weekend, the Kermodes battled with the Nechako Valley Vikings.
After coming out with a well balanced attack, potting 31 points in the first quarter, they went on to steam roll their opponents 84 - 51.
Offensively, the Kermodes were lead by a very balanced scoring attack, showing that it was a true team effort.
Twelve Kermodes contributed to the scoring, including Reegin Maki with 16 points, Kynan Finnie with 14 points, Marcus MacKay with 10 points, and Keel Haldane with 10 points.
The following weekend was even busier as the Kermodes took part in the annual Alumni tournament and also found time to play two games against Smithers Secondary Gryphons.
In game one versus Smithers the Kermodes dominated as they held the Gryphons to just 2 points in the first half.
After taking a 31 - 2 lead in the first quarter they utilized the opportunity to rest their starters for much of the game.
They then coasted to a 76 - 24 win and were lead by Marcus MacKay with 16 points, Reegin Maki with 14 points, Mat Brown with 12 points and Kynan Finnie with 10 points.
In game two the Gryphons had a little more fire—but not enough to take down the Kermodes as the home town boys cruised to a 70 - 31 win.
Kermodes were lead in scoring by Marcus MacKay 18 points, Patrick Kurek with 16 points, and Reegin Maki with 10 points.
And the Kermodes are looking forward to the upcoming weeks as they prepare for some stiff competition.
The team’s next action takes place tomorrow Jan. 3 when they travel to Prince George to take on the number 3 ranked AA team in the province—Duchess Park Condors—and have four games scheduled in total from Jan. 3 til the 5th.
They take on Duchess Park twice as well as College Heights Cougars and DP Todd Trojans.
Following Prince George the team makes their way to Abbotsford to compete in an international tournamnet that features Fairfax High from Los Angeles, a perennial top 25 US high school team.
Kermodes first game at the tournament is against last years Manitoba Provincial Champions, Oak Park Raiders from Winnipeg.