With key starters on the bench nursing injuries, the Pitt Meadows Marauders senior boys’ basketball squad went 2-2 over the past week.
Last Tuesday, Pitt continued to play without point guard Elijah Lapurga, and turned the ball over 39 times. Pitt, a Top-10 team on the quadruple A circuit, still beat Port Moody, 73-66.
Big man Graham Smith scored 32 and had 17 rebounds to lead the Marauders, while Hakeem Wewala scored 20 and pulled down 19 boards.
The point guard woes continued for Pitt at the prestigious Emerald Tourney at Vancouver College on Thursday. Pitt led the hosts for 35 minutes only to have their lead slip away, and lost 88-83 in overtime.
Smith hit a trey with 1.7 seconds to go to send the game into OT. He also scored 40 and had 20 rebounds. Wewala had 14 points and 12 boards, and Zach Villanueva scored 11.
In the consolation round, Pitt ran into a hot SMU team. Down one point at half, Pitt could not muster the energy to overcome an SMU team that was inspired by the attendance of former alum and NBA star Steve Nash. A sick Smith was limited to only eight points in the second half before he retired from the game totally exhausted. He still finished with 31 points and eight rebounds.
In the final game of the tourney, Lapurga returned from his injury looking like his old self. He scored 19 points, had six helpers and directed the Pitt offence to a 75-60 win over Oak Bay. Mark Ashamalla had his game of the year, leading the team with 23 points.