The Championship season

A fourteen year drought is over at Charles Hays, as the Hurricanes senior boys basketball squad claimed the zones championship for the first time since 1994.

In an exciting weekend of basketball the east side high school, tipped off against their Kitimat rivals a number of times in the double knockout format, the first battle was Friday night which saw the Kitimat Eagless squad send the Hurricanes over to the losing bracket of the tournament, only to see the Rupert school battle its way back to the championship final on Saturday evening.

.

With a home court advantage of a loud and boisterous crowd, the home side gave their fellow students, faculty and fans something to cheer about as the Saturday evening final came to an end, with the Hurricanes on the winning side of an 80-71 thriller of a victory.

The Daily News' Patrick Witwicki recreates some of the drama and excitement of the weekend of basketball in Monday's Daily News.

Hays boys raise game to new heights
By Patrick Witwicki
The Daily News
Monday, February 25, 2008

Pages one and six

They did it.

The Charles Hays Secondary School senior boys basketball team won their first zones banner since 1994, defeating Kitimat 80-71 in the final on Saturday night at Charles Hays gym.

"We did it," said Hays coach Ben Pyde. "I think we really wore them down. And everyone on this team ... they wanted it really badly.

"I'm speechless, I'm numb ... it feels great.

"I feel like we just won the Stanley Cup."

The tournament was a true double knockout format, so when Hays beat Kitimat 61-58 Saturday afternoon, it forced a second and deciding game for Saturday night. And although it was close throughout, including nine lead changes and five ties, the Hurricanes took control in the final five minutes of the contest, outscoring Kitimat 17-10 to close out. And when that final buzzer hit, it kick-started a celebration of players, fans, and teachers alike as the lengthy drought was finally over.

"We worked so hard all year for this," said player Erich Pyde. "And it felt really good to win it for my dad."

Hays also hit their free-throws down the stretch, including Pyde's six-for-six in the final few minutes to ensure the victory.

"We knew in the clutch we could come through," said Erich Pyde. "We worked a lot on that in practice - shooting free-throws when we're tired, so coming down the stretch, they're nothing."
Kitimat led 56-53 after the third quarter, after they had come back from a 45-32 deficit, out-scoring Hays 24-8 to conclude the third stanza. In fact, all tournament long, Kitimat had never gone away, and had eliminated a 12-point deficit in Friday's round robin game that Kitimat eventually won in overtime to send Hays tumbling into the losing side of the bracket.

But that third-quarter comeback would be their last, as they seemed to run out of gas in the final quarter

"They ultimately beat us because of good coaching, and great work ethic," said Kitimat's coach, Wes Nyce. "When you have a short bench, fatigue is a factor."

Photo from the Charles Hays Secondary School website