It may have only been an exhibition game, but the Hornets and Rattlers still possess a bitter rivalry that was quite evident when the two high schools met on the basketball court January 24.
When Southern Okanagan Secondary School and Osoyoos Secondary School met at the SOSS gymnasium in Oliver Saturday, it reminded those in attendance of the days when the Hornets and Rattlers met to decide the recipient of the Barisoff Cup, a yearly battle between the two school rivals which ended nearly 10 years ago.
Saturday’s game didn’t matter in the standings, but it still proved to be an important stepping stone as both schools prepare for a provincial playoff run.
The Hornets took an early and sizeable first quarter lead, and led by as much as 15 points early in the game.
Osoyoos cut the lead to a single point later in the game, but Oliver took charge, held a 15-point lead late in the game, and cruised to an 82-75 victory.
“Osoyoos came prepared and made life tough for the Hornets as we could never extend the lead past 15,” said SOSS head coach Mo Basso. “The feisty Rattlers kept chipping back into the game with solid defence and deft shooting.”
The Hornets were led by Gurshan Dhaliwal, Blake Miller Yuckin and Raj Bahniwal, who all had 15 points. Anmol Malhi tallied 14 points followed by Austin Basso with nine.
Aman Rai had a game-high 32 points for the Rattlers.
“It was a good game. We were down 17-12 after one quarter, were tied at 27 at halftime, and actually out-scored SOSS in the final quarter,” said Rattlers head coach Casey Brouwer.
“I’m very proud of how we handled ourselves. We’ve been developing a solid defensive setup and communication on the floor, and have had a successful season.”
OSS finished first in the regular season standings and is now preparing for a playoff run, with Boys Single A playdowns set for February 26 -28 in Vernon.
The Rattlers were ranked 10th in the province a couple weeks back, and were listed as an honourable mention last week, sitting just outside the top 10.
Brouwer expects the Rattlers to move up to 7th or 8th when the next rankings are released.
“We are headed to Kelowna Christian School Februrary 13-14 for a tournament,” added Brouwer. “The tournament will feature most of the single A teams in our league. It will be a good test for us.”
The Hornets took over 1st place in the South Central Zone standings with a win over Maggie last week.
SOSS now stands 4-1 in league play and 16-12 overall, with 11 of their 12 losses coming against highly ranked teams.
“We are progressing well as they hope to make a run to the provincials,” summarized Basso.
The Hornets’ next home game is January 29 at SOSS versus Keremeos.
Dale Cory
Oliver Chronicle
