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Ramblers on to Fraser Valleys

The Maple Ridge Ramblers senior boys’ basketball squad qualified for the Fraser Valley triple-A championships last week.

The Maple Ridge Ramblers senior boys’ basketball squad qualified for the Fraser Valley triple-A championships last week.

The Fraser Valley East league championship tournament started last Wednesday with the Abbotsford Panthers defeating Ridge 70-43. The Panthers led 44-25 at the half, and outscored Ridge 26-18 in the second half. Leading the Ramblers was Tristan Coumont with 18 points, six rebounds and seven assists. Josh Solk had 16 points.

Facing an elimination game against the Brookswood Bobcats on Thursday, the Ramblers won 68-61. The game was tied at the half, but Ridge outscored Brookswood 36-29 in the second.  The leading scorers for Ridge were Coumont with 20, Burke Brussow, 19, and Solk, with 17. Leading the rebounding were Stefan Halas and Colorado Zelinski, with seven each.

A Friday game against the MEI Eagles of Abbotsford was also a do-or-die contest, and the Ramblers prevailed 60-57. An outstanding defensive effort was led by Will Chartrand and Kalesh Kumar, who both had 10 recoveries. Scoring was provided by Solk, with 18, and 15 points from each of Coumont and Brussow.

On Saturday, Ridge faced Abbotsford and was defeated 83-57, despite leading 23-20 at the end of the first quarter. Abbotsford’s Chase Claypool proved to be too much to handle, as he led the Panthers with 34 points.

Brussow scored 20 for Ridge. Will Chartrand had 14. Coumont was the leader on the boards, with 14 rebounds.

Ridge placed fourth and now advances to play Southridge of Surrey at the Fraser Valley tournament Wednesday. That game will be played at Rick Hanson Secondary in Abbotsford, at 4:45 p.m.

It is an eight-team tournament, with the top four advancing to the B.C. finals.

The Ramblers are the only team from the Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows school district in the tournament. The Pitt Meadows Marauders opened the tournament with a 55-53 loss to MEI, while The Thomas Haney Thunder fell 88-38 to the Robert Bateman Timberwolves of Abbotsford.

Haney met Pitt on the second day of competition, with Pitt winning 74-53 and eliminating the Thunder.

The Marauders had a tough draw on Friday, facing the Panthers, and fell 71-55.