Boys: West Van vs. Seycove

Written by Devin Delany

Hot fire in the snow….

Contrary to the chilly foreign subzero temperatures outside the court, both the Seycove Seahawks and the West Van Highlanders came out on fire straight from tip off. The tip off itself signified a battle of the big opposing centres that would set the tone for the entire first half. Both of these bigs, #25 Seycove and #21 for the Highlanders, would compete in the paint for low post positioning and on the glass all game long. West Van did their best in the first half to keep their backcourt fresh with ample substitutions and changes to alter Seycove’s flow on offense which seemed to be scoring at will early in the first quarter. 

A touching Quinn Keast “No Regrets” moment occurred late in the first quarter as WV’s guard did his best to sneak his “No Regrets” wristband past the referee but the iconic blue wristband would soon catch the eye of the men in stripes. Flashbacks rushed in as the reluctant young point guard had to take it off and get back to working hard on both ends of the court.

Seycove finished the first half strongly with a balanced attack in the paint and shots dropping from outside the perimeter that left the Highlanders searching for answers on defense. The halftime whistle was an awaited break for the team who needed some time to regroup and find answers on both ends of the court.

In the second half WV’s versatile #14 came out like a young Giannis Antetokounmpo with back to back fast break layups, multiple crafty dimes and blocks on the defensive end which seemed to rejuvenate the entire team. During Seycove’s timeouts “Buckets” would echo in WV’s huddle as the coach would press his team to continue to cover the hot shooters in an effort to get back into the game. This momentum even got WV’s bench into the game as defensive chants motivated the energetic squad to continue its press. WV would narrow the lead to 4 points early on in the 4th quarter where the game hit its tipping point. With 7 minutes left in the game Seycove started making it rain from the field where the team's elites would step up as if they were saying ‘ok this is close enough’. 

Seycove would continue to hit buckets in the late stages leading them to a well fought victory over a disappointed and exhausted WV team. WV will have a chance to get back in the win column on Saturday while Seycove will look to continue their winning ways tomorrow as well.