For three quarters, the Kelowna Owls gave the Walnut Grove Gators all they could handle.

The second-seed Owls led by as many as seven points in the first quarter against the No. 1 seed Gators in the championship final on Saturday night at the Langley Events Centre in the BC 4A senior boys provincial basketball gold medal game.

Walnut Grove would recover to lead by five at the half, but a buzzer-beating three-pointer at the end of the third quarter 91裸聊视频� Kelowna91裸聊视频檚 10 three-pointer to that point 91裸聊视频� cut the lead to one with 10 minutes to go.

91裸聊视频淚 think I said 91裸聊视频榳e are going to do the same thing we have done all year. And that means we are going to put out more effort in the fourth quarter and they did,91裸聊视频� said Walnut Grove coach George Bergen.

It also helped that the team switched to a 1-3-1 defence for the final quarter and the Gators would deliver the championship with a 78-65 victory.

91裸聊视频淭hat little zone, what it did was help us control Mason a little bit,91裸聊视频� Bergen said.

Bergen was referring to the Owls91裸聊视频� standout guard Mason Bourcier, who finished with 29 points and eight assists.

Bourcier would hit just one of six from beyond the arc in the fourth quarter.

91裸聊视频淭eam defence. We brought the 1-3-1 out 91裸聊视频� that is Bergen91裸聊视频檚 speciality 91裸聊视频� and it worked,91裸聊视频� said Grade 11 standout James Woods, who was named the tournament91裸聊视频檚 most outstanding player after 23 points, six assists and four rebounds.

He was coming off back-to-back 30-point games in the quarter-finals and semifinals.

The win was also revenge for the Gators after Kelowna had eliminated them in the provincial semifinals of the 2016 championships, on the Owls91裸聊视频� way to the gold medal.

And Walnut Grove91裸聊视频檚 Grade 11 players were also coming off disappointment last season, having lost in the junior boys provincial championship game.

91裸聊视频淲e had a chip on our shoulder and we put a lot of work in in the off-season, getting stronger,91裸聊视频� said Grade 12 guard Ty Rowell, who was selected a first team all-star. 91裸聊视频淪o winning means a lot to us.91裸聊视频�

Rowell led the Gators in Saturday91裸聊视频檚 final with 31 points, seven rebounds and five assists.

The Gators two big towers on the inside 91裸聊视频� six-foot-nine Jake Cowley and six-foot-eight Andrew Goertzen 91裸聊视频� also came up big, especially on the defensive end.

Cowley was already dealing with a wonky ankle heading into provincials when he rolled the other ankle in the team91裸聊视频檚 first game at provincials. He didn91裸聊视频檛 see any action in Friday91裸聊视频檚 semifinals.

But he found a physiotherapist who was able to alleviate the pain enough to allow him to play. It was still so bad, that Cowley was grimacing in pain during the awards ceremony and when he hobbled to the ladder for his turn to cut down a piece of t net as per championship tradition.

91裸聊视频淭here was nothing that was going to stop me from playing this game today. My leg could have been broken but I was still going to play,91裸聊视频� Cowley said about his last high school game.

He was limited to six points but managed to pull down a game-high 16 rebounds, including 14 on the defensive end.

91裸聊视频淚t was a pretty surreal experience. I have been watching this tournament since I was a kid and it was just an unreal experience.91裸聊视频�

Goertzen, also in his final high school game, came up with four blocks and was a presence all game down low. He also chipped in four points and six rebounds.

91裸聊视频淚 knew offence wasn91裸聊视频檛 my role today, I knew I had to step up on defence,91裸聊视频� said Goertzen, who was selected a second team all-star. 91裸聊视频淓veryone did their job.91裸聊视频�

91裸聊视频淚t sounds so cliche, but I can91裸聊视频檛 put it into words. Growing up, we always came to these games and to be in the final and win the whole thing was so surreal. Just unbelievable.91裸聊视频�

Brett Christensen chipped in with a dozen points, six rebounds and a block.

Kelowna had a great start to the game, scoring the first six points and leading by seven points at one point.

And for the first three quarters, the Owls actually led for 20:36 of the 30 minutes, with the Gators ahead for 6:05 and the rest of the time, the teams were tied.

The teams91裸聊视频� first meeting back in early December was a 21-point Walnut Grove victory, but in the previous three head-to-head games, the Gators have won by four, six and five points, respectively.

91裸聊视频�(It is) extremely difficult, to beat a team five times, a good team like that is an extraordinary task,91裸聊视频� Bergen said.

Kelowna coach Harry Parmar said the Gators were a great opponent and full value for their victory.

But he also felt his team let too many opportunities slip away.

91裸聊视频淎ll game long, it was just the little things. We had things going and we would miss a rebound and let them get a run. Get things going again , miss a rebound, and let them get another run,91裸聊视频� he said.

91裸聊视频漈he ball didn91裸聊视频檛 bounce our way.91裸聊视频�

91裸聊视频� Gary Ahuja (@garyahuja1)