Mount Boucherie Bears senior boys basketball head coach Kelly Broderick has seen a lot of quality teams in his 20 years at the helm of the program. None more so than the 2024-25 iteration of the team.
"They are hungry, extremely coachable and have a want that other teams haven't had," said Broderick to Black Press Media. "That started in the fall in the weight room. We changed some bodies and that definitely helped too."
One thing he has never had was an Okanagan Valley Championship, and a trip to the B.C. Basketball AAAA Provincial Championships.
Until now.
The Bears upset the vaunted 琉璃神社 Secondary School Owls, 75-72 on Saturday to claim their first Valley championship in two decades, and knock off an Owls team that had been undefeated in league play.
Seeded third heading into Valleys, Boucherie defeated Salmon Arm, 92-49 in the quarterfinals. They then escaped with an 84-79 victory over the second seeded Rutland Thunder, before the victory in the final against the Owls at KSS.
The Bears came out of the gate flying, with a 25-6 opening run in the first eight and a half minutes of the game.
Broderick championed the Valeo Health Clinic in 琉璃神社 and Dr. Snow for getting his team ready to compete.
"He took us in to our clinic even when it was closed, and he helped a lot with our readiness," said Broderick. "We were in there for hydration, stretching, a hyperbaric chamber, just in his facility for a couple of hours together and it really just focused us."
Broderick said by the time they got to the gym on Saturday night, the players went straight to the locker room to get changed and ready to play.
"We put a lot of emphasis on being ready. It hadn't always been that way throughout the season. But it was a great way to get started."
After being up 25-10 after the opening quarter, KSS closed to within three of MBSS, 33-30 at the half.
From there, Broderick's Bears relied on a trio of captains to push through the adversity.
"Bennett Messer has really come a long way from his Grade 11 year to his senior year," he said. "Physically, he put on 20 pounds, but it is his mental side of the game. He has given everything he's got for his senior year."
Messer battled inside all night with Owls standout forward Deven Johal, which included big offensive rebounds and tough putback baskets. He finished with 20 points and 15 rebounds.
The Owls went up briefly, 36-33 in the third, before MBSS's Grade 11 guard Noah Watters started a mini-run of their own to go up, 49-44 at the end of the quarter.
"Noah Watters is that kid who loves that game more than everything," said Broderick. "He puts the time in and wants to learn. Once again, this has been a big year of IQ. Physically and tactically we are there. We just really needed to rise in the IQ of the game, and they fell in love with it, and I love teaching it, so it was fun."
In the fourth, it was all Hayato Miyazaki. The senior guard hit three of his biggest team-high 33 points with one minute and thirty seconds left-- a clutch, in-your-face three with the shot clock running down-- to push the Bears to a 71-64 lead.
"He's another guy with a work ethic like no other," Broderick said. "He bonded with the team and just loves the game."
After a quick three by Owls guard Wells Grundy brought KSS to within four, the next 70 seconds was rife with drama.
Miyazaki hit one of two free throws to push the Bears lead to five with 50 seconds left, which prompted an Owls timeout. Grundy then banked in another three ball, and after another one-of-two trip at the free throw line for Miyazaki, the Owls grabbed a quick two to get to within two, 74-72 with 30 seconds left.
A controversial charge was called on Messer six seconds later, which gave KSS the ball down two with 24 on the shot clock.
Watters then forced a crucial turnover, which led to free throws from Bears guard Sayhayven Sehra. After another one-for-two trip, it was all down to a final heave at the buzzer for KSS, which would have tied the game.
Broderick would be lying if he said he wasn't holding his breath.
"I did hold my breath," he said, "Because that guy (Grundy) banked in the other one, so I was screaming no!"
As the ball rattled off the rim, a rapturous crowd of MBSS students and alumni charged the court.
"There were 12 guys on the bench that are in uniform, but there were hundreds of guys sending messages of support that had been or wanted to be in this situation that didn't get it done," said Broderick. "I kept sharing these messages with the guys and it showed that they weren't alone in the battle. It was so much bigger than themselves."
While the Okanagan has been a hotbed for basketball, just one AAAA team from the area makes the 16-team provincial championship. For the past 11 years, it has been dominated by the KSS Owls.
"We've been ranked (in the provincial top 10) for many years, but with only one berth out of here, you come across some of the historic teams, like Kelly Olynyk (South Kamloops)," Broderick explained. "We were in the finals against them and the big teams that KSS had, with Grant Shephard and Mitch Goodwin. We 100 per cent deserved to be in the provincial tournament but they would not even think about getting another berth for us. They were happy to get rid of us."
Broderick used to obsess over the unfair process in bid allocation.
"The one year, it was KSS, us and North Kamloops, we were all in the top 10 and only one of us could go," he said. "It used to drive me crazy that there was only one berth, and I spent too much time thinking about it, but the goal of this program is to build strong young men. Once I began thinking more about that, I was able not to get so stressed."
Broderick has great admiration for the "incredible" administration at the school throughout the years, who have assisted in helping his players become better humans once they graduate.
"Sometimes a guy goes through the process as a player where he doesn't understand what the program does for them," he said. "It takes five or so years out of school, and then he comes back and says, 'Coach, thanks so much for helping me be a strong young man,' which is bigger than the wins on the court."
"Yes, we want to win games, but I am trying to build these men so that when they leave, they are successful," he added. "To be honest, they are and I am really proud of that. I kind of had to let that feeling go of 'are we failing?' No, we are not failing, just because we don't get to go to provincials. Do I want to? Of course, but that's not the end-all-be-all."
Broderick, originally from West 琉璃神社, spent over a decade in the U.S. learning the game.
"I had some really amazing mentors, coaching with Hall of Fame guys like Denny Humprery (Eastern Washington) and (Gonzaga)," he said. "They were amazing mentors, and learning about coaching properly has been so fun. Lots of people want to put a jacket on that says coach, but I don't really think they know what that means."
The provincial championships take place March 5-8 from the Langley Events Centre. Broderick admits that it is hard to prepare his team for something that he nor his players have ever experienced, but, they will be ready.
"We are not just going, we are going to make a statement," he said. "We aren't scared of anybody. We put a resume together that is good enough to get a good seed, and you just hope you aren't ranked last."
The draw show, where teams get seeded for the 16-team tournament, occurs Sunday, March 2.
You can follow the tournament at .
The Bears are also looking for financial assistance for their trip to Langley. If interested in helping out, email Broderick at kelly.broderick@sd23.bc.ca.
