The Panthers won the game 92-66 to complete the senior AAA boys-calibre basketball tournament undefeated at 5-0 (won-lost).
The Raiders came out the gate quickly, scoring the first four points of the game on shots by Steven Seviour, before Prince Andrew got in gear.
Panthers guard Taurus Smith, the tournament most valuable player, responded for Prince Andrew by scoring the first of his game-high 26 points.
Dakeye Downey (14) and Nate Skeete (13) were Prince Andrew’s other leading scorers.
Logan MacDonald (18), Seviour (15) and Brayden White (8) were Rural’s top point-getters.
Players of the game were Adam Mitchell and Peter Masimo for Prince Andrew while Seviour and Brayden White took the honours for Rural.
Fast break
The Halifax team used the fast break throughout the first quarter to build a 24-13 lead after the first 10 minutes, and took a 49-26 advantage into halftime.
The Panthers dominated both the offensive and defensive boards, limiting Charlottetown Rural to single-shot opportunities while giving themselves multiple opportunities to score.
There were times during the game when the Raiders would begin to cut into the Prince Andrew lead, but turnovers would slow any comeback attempt.
Prince Andrew head coach Brad Martin said, despite the score, it was a hard game to play.
“It was a tough game, especially with it being the fifth game in three days,” he said. “Our depth helped us.
“It looked to me like Charlottetown was not at its best. It looked like they started to get tired.
“They came out OK, but they got tired early on in the game and that helped us.”
Martin said it was out of character for Charlottetown Rural to be beaten on both the offensive and defensive boards.
“I think that again speaks to the fatigue,” he said. “We played them before, and we saw them in the other games. That’s not typical for them. I chalk that up to fatigue.”
Raiders head coach Mike Lloyd said his team seemed to lack the spark to overcome the talented Halifax team.
“They (Panthers) played much tougher than we did,” he said. “We just played them a week ago in another tournament, and the difference was less than 10 points.
“We’re very disappointed with the way we came out of the gate, and we just didn’t seem to have the fire going this week that we had last week.
“Overall, we had a pretty good tournament. But you have to be willing to be strong and battle against a team like Prince Andrew. They’re physical. They’re very athletic. No. 23 (Taurus Smith) is just a tremendous player, and they’re well-coached too. They’re a pretty disciplined team.”
“They (Panthers) played much tougher than we did. We just played them a week ago in another tournament, and the difference was less than 10 points. We’re very disappointed with the way we came out of the gate, and we just didn’t seem to have the fire going this week that we had last week. Overall, we had a pretty good tournament. But you have to be willing to be strong and battle against a team like Prince Andrew. They’re physical. They’re very athletic. No. 23 (Taurus Smith) is just a tremendous player, and they’re well-coached too. They’re a pretty disciplined team.” - Charlottetown Rural head coach Mike Lloyd
mcarson@journalpioneer.com
All-Stars
Christmas Classic
tournament all-stars:
Jeremy Thompson, Colonel Gray
Colin Arsenault, Three Oaks
Logan MacDonald, Charlottetown Rural
Jack MacAulay, Charlottetown Rural
Carvell Clayton, Prince Andrew
Christmas Classic
Snapshots
Saturday’s Christmas
Classic snapshots:
Semifinals
Charlottetown Rural 63
Three Oaks 59
Jack MacAulay poured in a game-high 27 points to lead Rural. Steve Seviour (12) and Mark Lloyd (8) were the other leading scorers.
Colin Arsenault (18), James Meek (14) and Tanner Mendoza (9) keyed Three Oaks’ attack.
Rural took a 10-point lead, 35-25, into the intermission.
Players of the game were MacAulay and Arsenault.
Prince Andrew 72
Colonel Gray 48
Tauras Smith (24), Tyshaun Boutlier (8) and Dakeye Downey (7) were Prince Andrew’s top scorers while Brett Butler (8), Mike MacKenzie (8) and Joe Burey (6) were Gray’s leading offensive producers.
Prince Andrew was in front 37-19 at the half.
Players of the game were Nate Skeete (Prince Andrew) and Jeremy Thompson (Gray).
Third-Place Game
Three Oaks 75
Colonel Gray 60
Arsenault led Three Oaks with an 18-point effort while Adam Gallant (13) and Ty Wright (10) also made key offensive contributions.
Jeremy Thompson (16), Jeff Morrison (13) and MacKenzie (9) were Gray’s top scorers.
Three Oaks was in front 33-32 at the half.
The players of the game were Gallant and Meek of the Axemen while MacKenzie took Gray’s honour.
Fifth-Place Game
Amherst 77
Bluefield 68
Adrian VanVulpen sank 19 points for Amherst, which received 12 points each from Caleb Hayes and Jason Morse.
Zack Marsh (20), Euan Groman (17) and Kurtis Kemp (16) were Bluefield’s top scorers.
Amherst led 37-30 at halftime.
Players of the game were Groman and Willie Legere (Amherst).
