Lake City Secondary School Grade 8 boys enjoyed a recent success, winning two games Saturday, Jan. 7 in Barriere.
In the first game against Barriere Secondary School, the Williams Lake team won 43 to 37, said coach Travis Nystoruk.
“Hayder Braithwaite came out early with a quick six points to start the game. Williams Lake took a 12-2 lead within the first four minutes of the first quarter.”
Nystoruk said Williams Lake carried a 10-point lead throughout most of the game and had to play hard to fend off an aggressive Barriere in the fourth quarter eventually winning by six.
Leading scorer for the game was Roman Aulakh with 13 points.
The team won 49-25 in the second game, which was against St. Ann’s Academy from Kamloops.
Leading scorers for that game were Tristan Gullickson with 15 followed by Nathan Del Rosario with 12.
“All of the players on the team got lots of playing time and played some great team basketball,” Nystoruk said. “A huge jump in confidence was seen from their play compared to games that were played prior to the Christmas break.”
These were the first two wins of the season for the Grade 8 boys team.
Now the team will travel to Kamloops to play on Jan. 13 and 14.
Nystoruk said the junior boys basketball team played two games as well and had one win and one loss.
“They started off against Barriere Secondary School and played a first quarter of defense holding Barriere to just seven points. Junior boys played well ended up winning 58 to 49.”
In the juniors’ second game of the day, against a very fast paced team from St. Ann’s Academy, they ended up getting second place.
This is Nystoruk’s first year coaching secondary school basketball.
He was helping basketball coach Willie Hardeman at the secondary school level and learned a coach was needed for the Grade 8 boys.
Nystoruk played basketball growing up in Golden and said he loves the game.
He moved to Williams Lake 11 years ago for work.
More recently he has been running an introductory program to basketball for ages five to seven at Nesika Elementary School that will start up again in the spring.
READ MORE: OUR HOMETOWN: From the Bay Area to the lakecity
monica.lamb-yorski@wltribune.com
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