Mt. Baker Shootout - July 6-8, 2007

VIBA North Finishes 2nd...

Ben Kneen, Chris Smyth, Joey Forsyth, Kevin Pellerin, Chris Kline, Brandon Gierc, Bobby Elias, Blake Mansbridge, Jordan Weisner and Rulon Schmidt

Friday - July 6th

VIBA North Varsity beat a determined Nooksack HS team in their opening game 46-43. It was a total team effort with every player contributing. Keys to the victory were a balanced offensive attack with Mansbridge, Forsyth and Schmidt hitting a bunch of timely threes and Kneen clearing the boards at both ends as well as making several fine moves to the hoop. On defense, VIBA played tough man to man help defense and very rarely gave up second shots. They moved the ball well against a tricky 3-2 zone in the second half.

In the second game against a very talented Northwest Select team from the lower mainland, VIBA prevailed by 8 points. Everyone played again and everyone contributed again. The best play of the game was a steal made by Chris Kline who went all the way down the court, missed the layup BUT somehow gathered up enough intestinal fortitude to sprint back on defense and pick up his man before the other team had a chance to score.

Elias, Weisner, Gierc, Pellerin, Smyth and Schmidt were all consistent at both ends of the court again. Kneen dominated the boards, Mansbridge drew the other team's top defensive player and Joey Forsyth drew several key charges. Northwest Selectgs 46 - VIBA North 54.

Tomorrow, VIBA plays a tough Bellevue Christian team and then face nearby Granite Falls in the forth and last round robin game.

Saturday - July 7th

 In an early morning game, VIBA had a slow start. They played a very disciplined Bellevue Christian School that really didn't have any player that was bigger, more skilled or more determined than we were. The main difference was that they executed their individual and team fundamentals better than we did. I think our chances of beating them in the future however would be much, much better. Our biggest errors were made with poor entry passes to our posts, our guards beating their man on a drive only to face 2 more guys helping them out and several players on the court watching shots being taken, loose balls rolling on the floor and generally not being in a position to make a play. Offensively, Mansbridge, Kneen and Forsyth were the most consistent while Kneen, Kline, Elias, Forsyth and Mansbridge were our toughest defenders. We were down by 14 at the half, but managed to bring the game to within 6 points before Bellevue hit some free throws in the dying moments of the game. B. Christian 50 - VIBA 40.

In our next game, a determined Granite Falls, Washington team kept it close for the first 3/4 of the first half. VIBA led by 8 points at halftime. Jordan Weisner hit a couple of key breakaway layups to put the first nail in Granite Falls' coffin. The momentum permanently changed and VIBA outscored G Falls 22 - 4 in the first 10 minutes of the second half. Mansbridge was deadly from the outside, Kneen from the inside while Forsyth, Elias, Kline & Weisner were our best in transition. Kline played a very solid all around game and I don't think he had one turnover. Braden Gierc, Rulon Schmidt, Jordan Weisner and Chris Smyth started to become factors in the second half as they became participants rather than just observers when shots were taken or loose balls occurred. Kevin Pellerin had a hipflexor problem and decided to sit out both games. VIBA 64 - GF 36.

At this point, we are 3-1 and will get at least one game on Sunday... game time is at NOON.

Sunday - July 8th

Semi-Final vs. Tigers (Fraser Valley)

We were looking forward to play against the Tigers from the Fraser Valley because they handled Bellevue Christian decisively in their match-up earlier in the tournament. BC were the only team that defeated us on Saturday. From the tipoff to the end of the game, we played very tough team defense. With Ben Kneen in foul trouble early in the game, Braden Gierc and Jordan replaced him and did a great job on the Tigers talent post man. Gierc was a presence in the middle on defense and offensively finished some key put-backs where on Friday and Saturday, he didn't. When Kneen finally got back in, he established his strong inside game at both ends of the court despite being in foul trouble . On offense, Blake Mansbridge again was our most effective scorer from the outside. He scored several early 3 pointers and made some tough pull up jumpers at key times. Chris Kline and Bobby Elias were excellent in their point guard play. Bobby drew several fouls on drives to the hoop and Chris made consistently sound decisions handling the ball and was a constant source of irritation to the Tigers guards on defense. Rulon Schmidt, who was called up for the trip, continued to be effective, especially when he mixed it up around the boards. Kevin Pellerin was effective despite a nagging pulled muscle. Chris Smyth picked made his presence felt by getting several loose balls and errant rebounds. And last but not least was Joey Forsyth's play. He drew 3 huge charges in a matter of a few minutes when the Tigers put on a late game surge. He was tireless in his aggressiveness at both ends of the court. VIBA 43 - Tigers 33.

In the final game against Bellevue Christian who gave us our only loss, it was a battle between two very determined teams. Early on, Mansbridge again lit it up from the outside, Kneen was dominant on the inside and Elias controlled the point. Bobby had several nice assists. VIBA led by as many as 7 in the first half, but by halftime, the game was tied. Bellevue's outstanding shooting guard #22 matched Blake's shooting and when we took away his outside shot, he did a great job penetrating and dishing to his teammates for easy lay-ins. It wasn't until Joey Forsyth took over guarding #22 that we were able to somewhat neutralize him. The problem was, that BC made some adjustments and executed their well practiced and disciplined offense to score several easy layups during the last 10 minutes of the game. Kline again made great decisions in the transition game and drew several fouls taking the ball to the hoop under control. Jordan Weisner played his most consistent game at both ends and in transition with no turnovers.  Schmidt hit a couple of 3 pointers, one of which was beyond the NBA distance. Bellevue were up by as many as 12 points in the second half, but VIBA didn't quit and aggressive defense especially by Kline and Forsyth helped to us to close the gap to 5 points at the end of the game. Bellevue Christian 53 - VIBA 48.