When the Duchess Park Condors played the D.P. Todd Trojans in a junior boys basketball league game last week, they got a little rattled whenever the Trojans threw a full-court press at them.
On Saturday, in the championship final of their own tournament, the Condors kept their cool against the tenacious Trojans and stepped off the court with a 46-31 victory.
"We showed a lot of composure against their 1-3-1 press," said Condors coach Dave Holmes. "That was a big difference from [the league game]. I think we won that one by eight but it was a game full of turnovers. We wanted to control the ball and keep possession and try to get a good opportunity every time. That was a big part for this weekend."
Eric Kidwell knocked down a team-high 15 points for the Condors and Luke Holmes scored 11. Luke Holmes, a Grade 10 point guard, also did a great job controlling his team's tempo.
"Luke played really well -- more confident than usual," said Kidwell, a Grade 10 forward who was picked as Duchess Park's MVP. "There was something clicking with him. His shooting was on, too."
In a 65-40 semifinal win against the PGSS Polars, Kidwell had 16 points and Luke Holmes hit for 15.
Two out-of-town teams -- Columneetza of Williams Lake and Correlieu of Quesnel -- pulled out of the tournament because of unsafe driving conditions on Friday.
The Condors have now won two tournaments this season. Provincially, they currently own the No. 13 ranking.
PGSS is hosting a junior boys tournament this coming weekend.
n In weekend senior boys basketball, the Duchess Park Condors and College Heights Cougars both posted 2-2 records at a Clarence Fulton tournament in Vernon. In their last game, the Condors defeated the second-ranked double-A team in B.C., the South Okanagan Hornets of Oliver, 78-77.
Duchess Park's other win was a 61-54 decision against L.V. Rogers of Nelson.
The College Heights victories came against Pleasant Valley (97-77) and Penticton (77-71). South Okanagan edged the Cougars 72-71.
Josh Raphael of the Condors was picked as a first-team all-star.
