The Claremont/Mt. Doug Spartan Ram Classic senior boys basketball tournament Jan. 7-8 in Victoria provided the G.P. Vanier Towhees with a solid look at some of their Island opposition.

The Towhees liked some of what they saw, as they posted a 2-2 record. On Friday they lost 71-61 to Mt. Douglas and beat Reynolds 47-38. On Saturday the Courtenay cagers lost 53-47 to Kwalikum and beat Panorama Ridge (North Delta) 58-35. Brad Gunter was named to the all-star team.

Vanier, ranked No. 8 in the latest Vancouver Island AAA top 10, met No. 4 Mt. Doug in their first game. It was the Towhees first game of the year with their whole team intact, and captain Gunter made the most of his first outing with 18 points, eight rebounds and two nice dunks.

鈥淭he whole team worked very hard and held the Rams to only 37 per cent shooting,鈥� said coach Larry Street. 鈥淏ut coughing up the ball gave the Victoria squad too many easy baskets in the second half.鈥�

Dillon Robson added 15 points and six rebounds for the Towhees while Mark McGinnis had 10 points and three steals.

Three hours later the somewhat fatigued Towhees took on Reynolds. 鈥淓veryone played and shared playing time,鈥� said Street. 鈥淲e played excellent defence but didn鈥檛 shoot very well at 37 per cent.鈥�

Gunter (24 points, 11 boards) and Robson (six points, 10 rebounds) again led the offence. McGinnis had five assists and five steals. Trevor McGuire and Zach Hunter added some hard-fought points.

On Saturday Vanier met Kwalikum for the second time this year and this game was closer. The Towhees had plenty of chances to put this game away but shot poorly, 鈥淲e played a very good zone, limiting Kwalikum to 29 shots. But they shot 65 per cent while we shot a measly 34 per cent from the field and a paltry 41 per cent from the foul line,鈥� said Street.

Gunter (17), Robson (15) and Jacob Wiebe (seven) led the scoring.

Later that day, Vanier鈥檚 trapping defence proved too much for Panorama Ridge as a solid game from all the Towhees led to a comfortable win.

鈥淭he strong inside play of Gunter earned him a double-double (22 points, 15 boards) while Wiebe added necessary energy and spearheaded the second-half surge with plenty of ball hawking and leaping onto the floor for loose balls,鈥� said Street.

鈥淲e鈥檙e still struggling to get in sync and even though Brad was a huge addition for us, we are still not in sync. Maybe playing our next six games at home will jump start us for a big second half of the season surge.鈥�

The Towhees started their home stand yesterday against the Alberni Armada, with result unavailable at press time. It continues Jan. 13-15 when they host the 2011 Towhee Invitational. The 12-team tourney gets underway Thursday at 3 p.m. and continues through to the final Saturday at 8 p.m.

The Towhees play Pacific Christian (Victoria) in their first game at 8 p.m. Thursday.

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