The Belmont Bulldogs senior boys’ basketball team is competing at the B.C. basketball championships this week at the Langley Events Centre.
Belmont is the No. 13 seed in this year’s tournament and matchup against the No. 4 seed W.J. Mouat in the first round.
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READ MORE: Day one in the books at B.C. high school basketball championships
The Bulldogs placed second in the south Island playoffs and second in the Island playoffs, losing to Oak Bay in both championship games.
They played a challenge game against Cowichan to send them to the provincial tournament and this is the second year in a row they were challenged. Head coach Kevin Brown is 3-0 with his teams in challenge games.
Brown has been coaching Belmont senior boys for eight years and 14 years in total.
He has helped build a culture for the senior boys program at Belmont that started to pick up about six years ago, he said. The students are held to academic standards as well as athletic ones. His players often come in at 6 a.m. to get shots up before school starts.
This year’s senior Bulldogs’ team is deeper than past teams. They have a back to the basket centre in Isaac Ickovich, who is one of the only ones in B.C. Forward Nishad Tarak usually chips in 20 points per game, but on any night any player can step up, Brown said.
“We’re not just a shooting team, we’re not just an inside team, so it’s nice, we just have to adapt when we see the other team we play,” Brown said.
Julius Kennedy had 35 points in the challenge game against Cowichan.
Coming into the provincial championships Brown said that any matchup between the No. 4 to the No. 14 seed is anybody’s game. He has been to provincials four out of the last six years and this is the second year in a row. The Grade 12s this year will be much more comfortable playing in a stadium setting after getting a taste of it last year.
Brown said a more experienced team makes a big difference and if the team rebounds, plays good defense and can play relaxed, they will have a shot at beating the good teams.