The GW Graham Grizzlies are B.C. high school basketball champions.
A 79-67 win over the Duchess Park (Prince George) Condors at the Langley Events Centre Saturday night gave GWG the first hoops title in school history.
After taking several talented teams to provincials the last few years and coming up short of the ultimate goal, the Grizz are finally kings of the court.
GW Graham entered this 16 team AAA senior boys tournament as the No. 3 seed.
After knocking out the No. 2 seeded Vernon Panthers last night, they were underdogs in the final against the top seeded Condors.
READ MORE: Grizzlies among favourites at AAA basketball provincials
READ MORE: GW Graham gets past Magee in provincial quarter-final
Through the first quarter the teams were almost dead even, with Duchess Park holding an 18-16 lead.
Then, the explosion.
GWG out-scored their foes 18-9 in a dominant second quarter and 24-15 in an impressive third quarter, building an insurmountable lead. With 9:05 remaining in the game, they were up by 20 points.
Clay Kurtz led a balanced attack that saw five Grizzlies hit double digits in scoring.
Kurtz shot eight of 16 from the field and seven of nine from the free-throw line en-route to 24 points. He added four assists, three steals and 12 rebounds in a truly transcendent performance.
Cairo Almarez capped off a great tournament with 17 points, and Jude Hall had 11.
The Klim twins, Matthias and Zach, combined for 24 points (14 for Matthias) and 23 rebounds (15 for Zach).
Defensively, GW Graham struggled to contain the two-headed monster of Caleb Lyons (25 points) and Jackson Kuc (24 points), but a lack of scoring depth behind the big two left Duchess Park short.
Kurtz was named Player of the Game in the final and MVP of the entire tournament while Matthias Klim was named the Best Defensive Player.
Zach Klim earned a first team all-star selection.
Catch Wednesday’s Chilliwack Progress sports section for more on this historic win.