It was an all double-A battle on Saturday night in the final game of the Chilliwack Tournament as G.W. Graham took on the Sa-Hali Sabres from Kamloops. The game started out with Graham taking an early lead and establishing themselves by taking the ball to the hoop early and often. Chris Thomson had a solid first half by crashing the boards and taking high percentage shots. However, the Sa-Hali point guard (#6) was keeping the Sabres in the game by getting to the key and making smart plays. G.W. Graham led Sa-Hali by 10 after the first half.
The third quarter is where the intensity of the game was dialed up and the battle was taken to a new level. The Sabres went on a quick run and shrunk the Graham lead to two. The Grizzlies were not helped by the fact that Lucas Mannes and Chris Thomson found themselves in foul trouble. One of the best plays of the game was Micah Cockrill being baptized for the second time as his layup attempt was soundly rejected by Sa-Hali #15. However, Micah responded with a deep three from the Chilliwack Middle School parking lot and the Grizzlies retook the lead and led 64 to 60 at the end of the third quarter.
The Grizzlies started the fourth quarter with a 9-6 run but then the Sabres went on an 11-2 run in a span of two minutes to take control of the game and a 77-75 lead. However, led by Micah Cockrill’s hot hand, the Grizzlies managed to stay close but the hot shooting and tight defense of Sa-Hali proved to be too much for the local Grizzlies squad as the Sabres escaped a number of game-winning and game-tying attempts from G.W. Graham. It did not help the Grizzlies that Lucas Mannes and Micah Cockrill combined to miss three free throws in the final minutes of the game. Sa-Hali held on to win 81-78.
Chris Thomson was named a first-team all star as well as #12 and #6 from Sa-Hali. Micah Cockrill, who scored 47 in the final game, averaged 38 points per game over the weekend and was named the tournament MVP. He continues to show that he is the best player in Chilliwack and probably one of the top players in the Fraser Valley and the province.
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