THE claws were out on Saturday night (January 20) as the Lord Tweedsmuir Panthers swiped victory from the Tamanawis Wildcats in a heated overtime final to win the 32^nd annual Surrey RCMP Basketball Classic senior boys’ championship.

The scoreboard read 96-93 as the final buzzer sounded, marking the culmination of the Cloverdale team’s ascent to the top. It was a particularly bittersweet end for Tamanawis as the junior boys’ Wildcats had won their tournament just hours earlier, 66-58 against the Grandview Heights Grizzlies.

In the weeklong tournament, Lord Tweedsmuir started strong with a commanding 93-59 win over the École Salish Wolves but faced tougher competition, fighting tooth and nail in the quarterfinals against Fleetwood Park 77-73 and a high-scoring semifinal facing Sullivan Heights ending 94-89.

Likewise, Tamanawis proved to be dominant force on the court, handily defeating the Frank Hurt Hornets 105-54 before holding the Queen Elizabeth Royals to a 20-point deficit, 82-62, and sidelining the Pacific Academy Breakers in the semis 85-74.

On the juniors side, Tamanawis held strong leads against the Princess Margaret Lions (79-48), Holy Cross Crusaders (75-61) and Enver Creek Cougars (59-46) on their way to the junior championship. Grandview Heights had good showings against École Salish (72-55), Lord Tweedsmuir (68-56) and the L.A. Matheson Mustangs (71-59) before the finals.

Senior Results:

1^st Lord Tweedsmuir Panthers

2^nd Tamanawis Wildcats

3^rd Pacific Academy Breakers

Junior Results:

1^st Tamanawis Wildcats

2^nd Grandview Heights Grizzlies

3^rd L.A. Matheson Mustangs

– SURREY SCHOOLS REPORT