BAIE VERTE, NL — Host Copper Ridge Academy reached the semifinals of the Baie Verte Invitational basketball tournament this past weekend but could not get past Viking Trail Academy in the quest for a title.
The boys from Plum Point earned a berth in the final with a 68-51 win over the Baie Verte team. The Elwood Lakers of Deer Lake — a team of Grade 11 and younger players — would win the championship with a 77-61 victory over Viking Trail Academy in Sunday’s final.
Copper Ridge Academy opened the tournament with a 65-38 win over M.S.B. Regional Academy of Middle Arm, dropping its second game to the eventual champions from Deer Lake.
M.S.B. Academy finished the tournament 0-3, losing 72-31 to Elwood and 59-42 to New World Island Academy of Summerford.
Indian River High of Springdale went 0-3 in the tournament, losing 53-49 to Pasadena Academy, 54-44 to Viking Trail Academy and 60-42 to New World Island.
A summary of the tournament:
Copper Ridge 65, M.S.B. Academy 38
Cameron Regular and Andrew Small led the offence with 14 points apiece for the hometown team, while Chase Barrett contributed to the win with 13 points.
Ben Hurley had 18 points for M.S.B. in the loss, while Isaac Goudie had 12 and Luke Hurley added eight.
Copper Ridge jumped out to a 13-7 lead after the first quarter and built its advantage to 31-20 by halftime, but an 18-4 third quarter left no doubt in the final outcome.
Pasadena Academy 53, Indian River 49
Lucas Seaward led Pasadena with all 22 of his points in the second half, while teammate Tyler Murphy chipped in with 10 points.
Tyler Clarke led the offence for Springdale with 22 points, while Joshua Northcotte contributed with 15.
Both teams struggled to score early in the game with just four points each after the first quarter. Indian River opened up 24-13 halftime lead with a good second quarter. Pasadena finally got its offence ramped up in the second half behind three three-pointers from Seaward in the third quarter. Leading 30-29 heading into the fourth quarter, Seaward would score 13 points in the final period to ensure victory.
Elwood 73, Copper Ridge 34
The boys from Deer Lake set the tone early in their tournament opener against the host squad from Baie Verte. They jumped out to a 19-7 first-quarter lead and were up 42-15 at the half — establishing themselves as the early favourites to win the Baie Verte Invitational, which is back for the second straight year since it was last held in 1996.
Kyle Pinksen scored 22 points in the win, while Ian Colbourne added 11.
Daniel Hurley led the way for Copper Ridge with 15 points, while Andrew Small chipped in with 11.
Viking Trail Academy 65, New World Island 61
The Plum Point team had a big fourth-quarter comeback to secure its first win of the tournament over New World Island. Trailing by 12 entering the final period, Viking Trail Academy outscored the Summerford boys 31-15 in the fourth to grab the win.
Drew Taylor scored 16 of his game-high 30 points in that final period, while teammate Chris Hynes added 12 in the game.
Garrett Anstey and Jared Burry each had 18 points in the loss, while New World Island teammate Aaron Ings chipped in with 16.
Viking Trail Academy 54, Indian River 44
Viking Trail Academy opened up an 18-10 first quarter lead and shut down the Springdale offence in the fourth quarter to thwart any comeback hopes. Indian River used a 15-10 third-quarter advantage to narrow a double digit lead to four heading into the fourth quarter, but could only muster five points in the last period.
Drew Taylor again led the Plum Point squad with 24 points, while Josh Way added seven.
Tyler Clarke was a force on offence again with 23 points, and Joshua Northcotte contributed with 11.
New World Island 60, Pasadena 56
The game went back and forth throughout as momentum changed hands several times. Summerford jumped out to a 20-10 first quarter lead, but Pasadena owned the second quarter 21-12 as the teams went into the half separate by just one.
Pasadena held a slight lead into the fourth quarter, but New World Island would pull slightly away for the victory.
Garrett Anstey was again the leading scorer for Summerford with 16 points and teammate Ian Burt helped out with 14 points.
Lucas Seward was the main threat for Pasadena again as he scored 16 points, while Nathan Carter poured in 12 in the loss.
Elwood 72, M.S.B. Academy 31
The Middle Arm squad held the high-scoring Lakers down through the first quarter, trailing just 12-6 heading into the second period. However, the champions’ offence kicked in after that with a 23-point quarter and a 19-point halftime lead.
Gavin Curtis led Elwood in scoring with 13 points, while teammate Ryan Legge added 10.
Ben Hurley led M.S.B. in scoring again with 11 points, while Noah Penney chipped in with eight.
New World Island 60, Indian River 42
The Summerford boys were all over the Springdale team from the opening tip. They led 20-5 after the first quarter and 41-17 at the half, winning the game handily despite not scoring in the fourth quarter.
Garrett Anstey was again the main threat offensively for New World Island pouring in 21 points, while Ian Burt contributed 15 points to the win.
Tyler Clarke led the way for the third straight game for Indian River with 16 points.
Pasadena 60, Viking Trail 58
Pasadena had a big third quarter, outscoring the Plum Point team 17-9, and the team hung on for the narrow victory.
Lucas Seaward was again the engine behind the Falcons offence as he dropped a game-high 27 points in the win. Curtis Genge added 10 for Pasadena.
Drew Taylor was at it again for Viking Trail, scoring 22 of his 29 points in the first half, while teammate Chris Hynes scored all 10 of his points in the second half.
Copper Ridge Academy 60, Pasadena 53
In a game that would determine the final semi-final spot, the hometown Baie Verte team grabbed control in the second quarter and held on with a solid defensive showing.
Andrew Small led the victory with 17 points, while teammates Isaac Lane and Cameron Regular added 12 each.
Lucas Seward was big again for Pasadena scoring 22 points, while Nathan Carter poured in 15 in the loss.
New World Island 59, M.S.B. Academy 42
Aaron Ings led Summerford with 15 points in the victory, while teammate Ian Burt added 11 of his own.
Ben Hurley again led the scoring attack for Middle Arm with 18 points, while Luke Hurley contributed with 14.
Elwood 75, New World Island 49 (semi final)
New World Island would keep the game relatively close early, trailing by just six points after the first quarter, but the lead increased 15 at the half and Deer Lake pushed a 13-point lead heading into the fourth quarter to the 26-point victory.
Ian Colbourne was hot from the outside, hitting seven three pointers en route to a game-high 29 points. Completing the high-scoring guard tandem was Kyle Pinksen, who managed to drop 23 points of his own in the semi-final victory.
Garrett Anstey did what he could offensively to keep Summerford close, but his 19 points would not be enough. Aaron Ings chipped in with 12 points in the loss.
Viking Trail Academy 68, Copper Ridge 51 (semi final)
Viking Trail Academy jumped out to a 16-7 first quarter lead and held a 12-point lead at the half. The hometown boys tried to fight back with a better third quarter, but a seven-point fourth quarter lead turned into double digits again and Plum Point would advance to the championship game.
Drew Taylor was a force offensively for Viking Trail Academy. He hit five three pointers and added 10 points from the free throw line to score 35 points. Teammate Josh Way had a solid 20-point game in the win.
Andrew Small was the main threat again for Copper Ridge as he dropped 16 points in defeat, while teammates Isaac Lane had 15 points and Daniel Hurley had 14.
Elwood 77, Viking Trail Academy 61 (championship)
After a competitive first half in which the two sides were only separated by four points, Elwood pulled away with a 24-13 third quarter.
Ian Colbourne kept his hot hand from the outside, dropping six more threes and leading the way with 35 points. Kyle Pinksen added 17 for the victors.
Drew Talyor netted seven three pointers in the championship game as he scored 27 points for Plum Point, and teammate Kobe Taylor added 11.
