Contributed
The Kermodes senior boys basketball team started off its season at the Nechako Valley Tournament in Vanderhoof, Dec. 2, taking a third place finish out of eight teams.
“I would have to say that the basketball on the weekend was typical of the first weekend of play each year,” said coach for the team Cam MacKay. “It got better as we went along, but we, like the rest of the teams, have a long way to go.
The first game of the year was a traditional scrappy affair as Terrace took on Prince George's DP Todd Trojans and both teams tried to shake off the excitement and nerves of the long-awaited game.
Kermodes controlled most of the game with a couple lapses as they got into some early foul trouble. The team was missing the presence of three of its big men, and others had to take on different roles than they normally play.
Kermodes were led in the first half by seniors Chad Dennis and Kevin Brown as they took a 31-20 lead into the locker room.
Terrace started cold in the second half while the Trojans outscored the Kermodes in the third quarter 24 – 17 leaving the Kermodes with a 48 – 44 lead going into the fourth quarter. Aaron Anderson, who sat out the entire second quarter due to foul trouble, netted 10 points and counted eight rebounds in the second half alone. Kermodes then were up 62 – 52 with under a minute left in the game when they got careless with the ball and made a couple poor decisions, allowing the Trojans to close the gap to five points at the final buzzer, ending the game 62 – 57 for Terrace. Player of the game went to Aaron Anderson.
Game two was Terrace up against the Duchess Park Condors, also from Prince George, and the already short Kermodes were without starting point guard Aidan Klein, who spent the first half on the bench icing his foot.
However, the Kermodes came out strong and built up a 17-12 lead after the first quarter. The second quarter was all Condors as the Kermodes once again got into foul trouble. The Condors went into the halftime intermission with a 34-33 lead. The remainder of the game saw eight lead changes as the teams battled back and forth. Kermodes were down by three going into the last minute and failed to capitalize on some defensive plays as they went down to a 70 – 63 defeat at the hands of the Condors. Kevin Brown was awarded player of the game.
The third and final game for Terrace was up against the Quesnel Correlieu Clansmen, where the Kermodes came out firing and never let up. They stormed out with a 49 -26 1st half lead as Marcus MacKay led the way with 24 points and eight rebounds. MacKay was awarded the player of the game.