BY JOHN DECOSTE
Kings County Advertiser/Register
The Valley East Basketball Association (VEBA) captured the Basketball Nova Scotia Juvenile Boys’ AAA title last weekend at Horton.
The Marvin Rhyno-coached VEBA team, made up of mostly Horton players with some help from Avon View and Central Kings, topped Cole Harbour 80-70 in April 25’s provincial final. Stephen Traynor had 24 points and Jake Kendrick and Josh Thomas 22 each for VEBA, which finished the three-day tournament with four wins and a loss. Connor Duke led Cole Harbour with 22 points.
The Shooting Stars, a Valley club team made up of Central Kings, West Kings and Middleton players, served as host team for the tournament, and finished the round robin with a 2-2 record.
Yarmouth and Colchester Mustangs made up the rest of the field.
The tournament opened April 23, with VEBA getting the best of Colchester by a 97-60 score. Thomas led the way with 23 points.
Shooting Stars then saw their first action of the tournament, slipping by Yarmouth 74-71. Thomas Baltzer had 21 points for Shooting Stars, while Sam Durling managed 18 for Yarmouth.
In game three, the final game April 23, Cole Harbour topped Colchester 99-74. Adam Ehler led all scorers with 22 for Cole Harbour; Jordan MacCully had 21 for Colchester.
Yarmouth and Colchester hooked up in the first game April 24, with Yarmouth winning 75-66. Durling and Luke Nickerson had 15 points apiece, while Tyler Johnson led all scorers with 26 for Colchester.
Game five saw VEBA take on Cole Harbour in what would be a preview of the gold medal game April 25. VEBA got 24 points from Traynor and 23 each from Thomas and Kendrick,holding on for an 86-84 win. Fergus Duke and A.J. Simmons had 21 each for Cole Harbour.
In game six, Shooting Stars got 15 points from Shawndell Sampson, 12 from Connor Simmons and 10 from Baltzer in a 66-55 win over Colchester, which was led by 20 points from Johnson.
Yarmouth then took on VEBA, and knocked the Valley squad from the unbeaten ranks with a 76-67 win. Durling finished with 23 and Nickerson 20 for Yarmouth, which led 41-32 at halftime. Traynor had 16, Chris Babin 14 and Peter Gibson 13 for VEBA.
In the final match April 24, Cole Harbour scored 117 points in topping Shooting Stars. A.J. Simmons had 28, Connor Duke 26 and Fergus Duke 25 for Cole Harbour. Baltzer led Shooting Stars with 21.
The final two round robin games April 25 doubled as semifinals. VEBA and Shooting Stars met in one semifinal for Valley-area bragging rights. VEBA got 22 points from Thomas and 10 from Gibson in an 81-72 victory. Baltzer again led Shooting Stars with 21, Sampson had 11 and Adam McNeil 10.
In the other semi, Cole Harbour improved to 3-1 and advanced to the gold medal game with an 82-68 win over Yarmouth. Fergus Duke led Cole Harbour with 28, while Durling topped the Yarmouth scorers with 19.
VEBA and Cole Harbour both ended the round robin with 3-1 records, and advanced to the gold medal game. Yarmouth and Shooting Stars were both at 2-2 and Colchester at 0-4.
In the bronze medal game, Yarmouth rode a 36-point performance from Durling to a 94-84 win over Shooting Stars, laying claim to third place. Nickerson added 24 and Jordan Cromwell 14 for Yarmouth, while Sampson had 20, Baltzer 18 and Simmons 13 for Shooting Stars.
