HNRH basketball Flames bring home Coal Bowl bronze medal

Hants North Flame no. 6 Lawson Grant keeps an eye on BEC Bears Ben Kearney during game action at the Coal Bowl. Kearney was named the MVP of the Coal Bowl. (Submitted photo)

NEW WATERFORD/KENNETCOOK: The Hants North Flames came home from the New Waterford Coal Bowl basketball tournament with some extra hardware.

The Flames, who were very competitive in the week-long tournament that combined sports, with education and team bonding, earned the bronze medal with a victory over St Marks Catholic High on Feb. 4.  A boisterous cheering section followed the Flames at each game.

The Coal Bowl was won by host Breton Education Cougars over Riverview. Hants North lost to Riverview 62-59 in the second semi-final on Friday night.

Hants North was one of the 10 teams invited to the annual Coal Bowl Classic basketball tournament, making a return after being shelved like many things due to the pandemic and its restrictions the past year or two.

Joining Hants North in the Doug MacKinnon Division was host Breton Education Centre; SAERC from Port Hawkesbury; Polyvalente de L’Ancienne-Lorette, Qc.; and Northeast Kings Education Centre from Canning.

The second division, known as the Mark Walzak Division, had teams from Glace Bay High; Riverview Rural High from Coxheath; Yarmouth Consolidated Memorial; Juvenat Notre-Dame from Levis, Qc.; and St. Mark Catholic High from Manotick, Ont.

The HNRH Flames won bronze at the Coal Bowl in New Waterford. (Submitted photo)

In the bronze medal game, Hants North was led by Dillon Miller with 19 points in the 67-54 victory over St. Mark’s Catholic School from Ontario.

Second team all-star Camden Gilby notched 18 points, while Jordan Young had 12 points.

Others scoring for the Flames in the win included:

Peyton White with seven points; Kaleum Hennigar with four points; Lawson Grant and Drake White with three points each; and Kenneth Rines with one point.

Kouper Densmore and Ali Carda were also listed on the roster on the game sheet but did not record points.

The Flames don’t get a rest as coach Toby White has the squad doing practices this week in preparation for the districts this weekend, which Hants North will host.