The Pitt Meadows Marauders Air Force defeated the best western Canada had to offer at the 2012 edition of the Bedford Road Invitational Tournament in Saskatoon last weekend. But ultimately it was one of Australia’s top teams that stood between it and a third BRIT title.
The Marauders went 2-1 at the tourney, finishing in fifth place after losing to Sydney, Australia’s Scot’s College in the second round, who eventually took home the championship.
“We didn’t play [our] best basketball at the BRIT, but we had moments of great play throughout,” said head coach Rich Goulet.
Pitt opened the tournament with dominating performance over Calgary’s Notre Dame, allowing the team just three points in the second eight-minute quarter.
But with the Marauders up 33-11 going into the second half, Notre Dame clawed their way back with 21 points in the third quarter. Pitt regained their composure, however, cruising to a 57-41 victory.
Trevor Severinski had 25 points and 12 rebounds, while Mitsu Iwai had 10 points.
That set up a match-up with tournament favourite Scot’s College. Pitt got out to an early lead against the much bigger and talented Scot’s College team, but the Aussies got the better of the Marauders in the end, winning 51-47 thanks to MVP Patrick Emry ‘s 25 points.
Matt Blackaby led the Marauders with 17 points and 11 rebounds, while Severinski had 15 points.
Scot’s College went on to beat up the rest of the tournament, winning the final by a score of 61-46 over the St. George’s Saints of Vancouver, B.C.’s No. 8 ranked team.
Pitt rebounded from the close loss by eking out a 53-52 win over Edmonton’s Jasper Place.
Jasper led most of the game but Pitt was able to bounce back from a nine-point deficit to take a seven point lead in the final minutes.
Jasper didn’t quit, however, and sank a three-pointer with three seconds left to draw within one.
Severinski sank 17 points and grabbed 16 rebounds, while Iwai had 18 points. Blackaby and Ryan Hopson also had strong performances, with nine and eight points, respectively.
Severinski was named to the tournament’s all-star team.
Goulet said despite the fifth-place finish, the tournament was still a positive experience for the team.
“[It was a great] opportunity to witness great school spirit,” said Goulet. “There were hundreds of volunteers including just about every teacher at Bedford Road Collegiate. We were well-treated every moment of the time we were at the school and throughout Saskatoon.”