AMHERST – Richard Hope got hot in the first half and there was little the Central Kings Gators could do to stop the Amherst Regional High School Vikings’ senior.
Hope hit three three-pointers in the first quarter and added four more in the second en route to a 53-point performance as the Vikings won their first Nova Scotia School Athletic Federation Division 2 boys basketball championship in three years with an 80-59 triumph over the defending champion Gators.
“It feels great to win. We had a very good team and we all came together at the right time,” Hope said after the finale.
“It’s amazing, I never thought I’d have a game like that.”
The Gators couldn’t get their offence going and trailed 20-8 after one quarter. They were down by 19 at the half.
Hope said the win was extra special because he and a number of teammates have been together since junior high.
Fellow senior Ryan Budd scored 13 for ARHS while Sammy Mohamad scored five, Kevin LePage had four, Dylan Rushton scored three and C.J. Curtis scored two.
Thomas Baltzer scored 13 and Trenton Oickle had 10 for Central Kings.
A year ago the Vikings finished eighth at the provincial tournament, losing all three games.
“I knew we had a good team early in the season, but you just never knew what was going to happen,” said Vikings head coach Reg Caulfield. “We took one win and one practice at a time, and even though we were successful I just didn’t know if we had what it would take to be successful at this level,
“We grew as a team and matured. Our defence was solid all year, but we became a very good shooting team.”
The top-seeded Vikings opened with a 79-37 win over Forest Heights on Saturday, with Mohamad scoring 22 and Hope adding 21.
Budd with 18, Curtis with five, Patrick Neufeld with four, Matt Thorne with three and David Manuele and Ryan Thompson with two also scored.
Dylan Bell had 17 for Forest Heights.
Amherst moved into the final with an 87-57 win over Middleton as Hope scored 33 points and Mohamad added 26. Also scoring were Budd with 11, LePage with nine, Rushton with six and Manuele with two.
Adam McNeil with 16 and Corey Charlton with 13 led the way for Middleton.
Bridgewater claimed third spot with a 78-43 win over Middleton.
dcole@amherstdaily.com
