James Johnston is waiting for his basketball team to take the next step and there would be no better time to start than on Tuesday night in Ladner.
The Sun Delta Sun Devils senior boys squad will clash with the Delta Pacers in the second annual Stebbings/Murray Cup - named after the two longtime local high school basketball coaches and Delta Sports Hall of Fame inductees.
More than local bragging rights will be on the line as the teams take impressive Fraser Valley Southwest League records into the tilt.
The Pacers sit at 5-0 after their huge 68-61 win over 10th ranked White Rock Christian on Wednesday night, while the Sun Devils are nipping at their heels at 4-0.
South Delta rallied in the fourth quarter to defeat its crosstown rival 75-67 in exhibition play back at the start of season but really hasn't produced a significant win since.
"We have had some good stretches against quality teams but haven't put it all together yet," said Johnston, in his first full season coaching at SDSS after an impressive run at Seaquam secondary. "We may have three starters have good games but the other two don't and we might not get nothing from our bench. We need everyone to be at their very best to get the results we are looking for.
"An important start would be beating DSS."
The Pacers have made steady progress since their loss in Tsawwassen back in November. They finished third at the Claremont Tournament, fifth at the Pitt Meadows Air Show and now their breakthrough win over White Rock. This week they play their fourth consecutive tournament at McMath as the minutes continue to pile-up for a young squad that sees three Grade 10s have significant roles.
Tuesday's match-up will feature two outstanding Grade 12 guards going head-to-head - the Pacers Lucas Goosen and the Devils Dustin Triano.
Goosen is enjoying another impressive campaign at DSS where he turned in a monster 54-point performance in a league win over Semiahmoo on Tuesday night. He added 38 points against White Rock.
Triano, the son of former Toronto Raptors head coach Jay Triano, is amazingly in his fourth year at the senior level after making the jump in Grade 9. His fourth quarter performance in the first meeting provided the difference.
"You're talking about the total package as a player," said Johnston of Triano. "He goes hard to the basket, has a nice outside shot and plays with great intensity.
"It's up to Dustin to find the right balance in the game - when it's time to do things himself or making sure everyone is involved by recognizing when players are in a situation to take advantage of their strengths."
If South Delta has an edge over Delta it might be their size and maturity in the post, led by the efforts of seniors Tait Cuthill and Conner Edinger, along with Grade 11 Nolan Sullivan.
"These are three 6-foot-5 post players who can be quite physical," added Johnston. "When they are effective it opens up our outside game."
Game time Tuesday is 7: 30 p.m.
At the buzzer... The Pacers win at White Rock Christian was their first-ever against the Warriors. They were in control from the outset, taking a 32-27 lead into halftime, then expanding the margin to 11 (5140) after three quarters.
While the school's attention was at the Ladner Leisure Centre for the annual Grad hockey game, the best performance by a DSS Grade 12 student was at White Rock where Goosen enjoyed another brilliant outing. He had 18 points and seven steals at the half. In the win over Semiahmoo, he enjoyed a triple double with 12 assists and 11 rebounds to go along with his 54 points.
A couple of Grade 11s also were key contributors against White Rock with Evan Messenger adding 16 points and Will Schwan grabbing 11 rebounds.
Delta is expected to play Churchill this afternoon in the semi-finals at the McMath tourney. The Bulldogs are an honourable mention in the last provincial "AAA" rankings.
