The guests of honour at the Abbotsford Collegiate Snowball Classic tore up the house and are taking the 52nd annual senior boys basketball tournament title home to Rhode Island.

The St. Andrew's Saints of Barrington, Rhode Island dwarfed local competitors and beat the province's No. 1-ranked AAA team top team, the Kelowna Owls, 77-55 in the finals on Saturday.

The tournament ran at Abbotsford Collegiate Jan. 12 to 14.

It was hoped The Owls, ranked first in B.C., and the W. J. Mouat Hawks might slow the Saints down, which are reputed for their physical stature and prowess on the court.

The Kelowna Owls, which had won 15 games prior to the match, hung in for a good part of the game but in the end the Saints won out.

"Kelowna played great," said Abbotsford Collegiate coach Prentice Lenz, adding there was only a 10-point spread between the teams until the third period.

"[The Saints] are big on the inside and they can shoot from the perimeter, so they are difficult to defend because if you take away one, they can beat you with the other."

Another set of Saints, from St. George's in Vancouver, won the bronze medal eliminating the W. J. Mouat Hawks 63-48.

The Hawks struggled partly due to the loss of their centre, Grade 10 student Tristan Etienne, who is recovering from heart surgery, said Lenz.

In the consolation round the Kelvin Clippers of Winnipeg beat Chilliwack 87-45.

Part of the U.S. Saints advantage is their size, said Lenz.

"There are some guys who are 6' 8" and 240 pounds. They are very muscular boys."

Regardless, Lenz is pleased with the efforts of the Canadian and local teams and the Panthers in particular.

"The boys played against some really high calibre teams. They did their best and played really hard," he said.

The Snowball Classic is worth the effort to organize and host because it generates a lot of excitement and provides a great competitive opportunity, Lenz said.

"We get really great basketball as well as fantastic crowds," he said.

"The atmosphere is great and there is great community support."

RBaker@abbotsfordtimes.coms