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Byrne displays grit, heart in finishing 4th at BCs

The big take-away from the Byrne Creek Bulldogs' season can be summed up like this: You haven't seen nothing yet. The senior boys basketball team from Burnaby put all its heart, passion and talent on show over four days at the B.C.
Sufi Ahmed
Byrne Creek's Sufi Ahmed, shown moving up court with the ball during opening round action at the provincials this week, is part of a large core eligible to return next year and build off their fourth-place showing at the 3-A championships.

The big take-away from the Byrne Creek Bulldogs' season can be summed up like this: You haven't seen nothing yet.

The senior boys basketball team from Burnaby put all its heart, passion and talent on show over four days at the B.C. 3-A championships in Langley, culminating with a fourth place finish that points to more.

Although the season ended with a disappointing 73-69 loss to the Bodwell Bruins on Saturday, in each game the Bulldogs were in the picture, pushing their opponents hard en route to a 2-2 record.

As in Friday's loss to the South Kamloops Titans in the semifinal, Byrne Creek flashed momentum-turning runs that forced the Bruins to dig deep, fending off a late rally that saw a 13-point deficit evaporate into a 65-65 battle with 2:40 to play.

Bodwell's Seckin Topac, voted the Player of the Game, drained his third trey of the day and the North Shore private boarding school converted on five-of-eight free throws in the final minute to wrap up third place.

Prior to that, the two sides batted the lead around seven times in the first 30 minutes, with the Bulldogs up 34-30 at halftime. Bodwell kept pace and began to pull ahead late in the third frame, bolstered by a 24-11 stretch run. They upped their lead to 61-48 a minute into the fourth, but Byrne Creek rebelled and pushed back with 12 straight points.

Bithow Wan went end-to-end for a layup to tie it at 63 with 3:27 to play; Bodwell rediscovered its foul-line shooting game after an 0-for-8 string to edge ahead 65-63 before Wan lined up two free throws to tie it once more.

The next bucket was Topac's three-pointer, and the Bulldogs were forced to chase possession the rest of the way.

“Both teams came out flat because no one wanted to play for third or fourth, I guess," noted Grade 10 point guard Sufi Ahmed. "It came out to who was more disciplined and I guess they were more disciplined."

Wan wrapped up with a game-high 26 points, while Martin Djunga contribued 13 points. Abdul Bangura and Majok Deng each tallied 11 points, while Grade 12 Shane Rafferty contributed six.

A day earlier, the Bulldogs spent much of the game in pursuit mode, trailing by 10 at halftime with a berth to the championship final on the line. Djunga buried three consecutive baskets to pull them within two with 3:30 remaining in the third, but South Kamloops responded with a 12-4 run. In the fourth quarter, Byrne Creek again threatened, with a three-pointer from Wan making it 54-51 with 7:31 on the clock. But the Titans held course and regained momentum and counted 18 of the final 23 points to advance to the final.

For Bangura, Rafferty and Wel Deng, Saturday's game was the end of their high school careers, playing large roles in a successful season with many more peaks than valleys, culminating with a trip to the B.C. Final Four.

“Our grade 12s were amazing for us all year long, they helped shape this season and I’m extremely proud of them," remarked head coach Bal Dhillon.

"‘They played a big part in this year’s team," Wan added of the seniors. "We’re going to lose three good players and that’s tough you know. We’ve got to bounce back next year and our team is very young."

Byrne Creek's future looks exceedingly bright, with both Ahmed and Wan having two more seasons of senior eligibility, while Djunga, Majok Deng and Tyril Whitebear leading a core of nine players entering their Grade 12 years next season.

“What we take from this experience is we’ve got a little taste of how close we were," said Dhillon. "Rick Hansen’s in the final tonight and they beat us by one earlier this year, South Kam we obviously battled with, so we’re knocking on the door. I think the lesson we take is don’t be satisfied with what we’ve accomplished, and let’s push the ball forward. We’re a young team and next year we can get after this thing, so let’s get after it."

All those reasons, plus pride in the accomplishment that are often lost behind the last result, are why the boys in blue-and-grey can hold their heads high. The fusion of team and experience will only get stronger after today.

“We made history, our school’s never made final four," said Ahmed.

“This year we just had a taste of what we’d like. Next year we’ll come back, mean business," added Wan.