The Handsworth Royals senior boys basketball team finished off a hot month with a tough win over Sentinel Thursday, shooting themselves into top spot in the Howe Sound AAAA league as the playoffs approach.
The Royals actually trailed the Spartans by three heading into the fourth quarter Thursday at Handsworth, but their offence woke up in time to score 24 points in the final 10 minutes to secure a tough 64-55 win.
“That was a crazy game for sure,” Handsworth head coach Cam Mowat said after the contest. “Sentinel is a tough team, they’re pretty good. … It was a defensive battle, which you’ll see against good, tough teams.”
The Royals were led by the dynamic Grade 11 duo of point guard Blake McLean and forward Ben Grant. Centres Baptiste Grandjean and Amir Hajisafar also helped provide the interior muscle that pushed the Royals past the Spartans.
The win moved Handsworth, 16-5 for the season, to 3-0 in Howe Sound play and gave them their ninth straight win overall. In January the Royals posted a 9-1 record, a run that included a gold medal win at the Cavs classic tournament hosted by Collingwood School last weekend. Handsworth claimed that title with a 74-52 win over fellow North Vancouver school Carson Graham in the final on Saturday. The Royals continued their North Shore reign three days later with another win over Carson, this time by a score of 86-52 in Howe Sound league play.
“We expect them to be a bit tougher the next time around,” Mowat said of the Eagles, who had several players fighting the flu bug during Tuesday’s game. “They’re a talented group. If you let them get their shots, they’re capable of winning on any given night.”
Rounding out the Howe Sound AAAA contenders is Argyle, a team that has just two Grade 12 players on its roster.
“They’re a young team, but they’re aggressive, which can give us problems from time to time,” said Mowat. “Just like any team on the North Shore, anyone can win on any given night. No game is a given. They’re quite a capable team when they’re firing.”
One more wrinkle will be thrown in the mix when the perennial dog fight known as the Howe Sound playoffs begin. The West Vancouver Highlanders have not been playing league games, just exhibition contests, but they’ll be thrown in the mix again once the playoffs start and a trip to the AAAA provincial championships is on the line.
“We don’t really care who we face, we just want to play our game,” said Mowat about his team’s potential playoff opponents. “We want to prepare, and win any game we can, whether it’s against West Van or Carson or Sentinel or Argyle, we’ll come out and play Handsworth basketball.”
No matter how it all shakes out, Mowat knows his Royals will have to be at their best to keep their spot on top of the Howe Sound heap.
“I don’t think it’s safe to make predictions, just because on any given night, anyone can win,” he said. “Sentinel gave us our biggest test – that was a very exciting game. But that said, Argyle, Carson – they can surprise you.”
As for the Royals, all they want to do now is keep preparing themselves for the fight they know is coming soon.
“You can never be comfortable, it’s never good enough,” said Mowat. “But we’re improving, we’re getting to the point where we want to be, but we’re not there yet.”
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Action continues this week in the AAAA ranks with Argyle hosting West Van Monday night and Sentinel hosting Carson Graham Tuesday. Both games begin at 7:30 p.m.
Handsworth will be back in action Thursday when they’ll host Argyle in a 7:30 p.m. tipoff.
