![Grade 10 forward Harry Liu [No 31] recorded 14 first-quarter points and kept the Winston Churchill Bulldogs alive after a rocky start against the team from Kitsilano secondary. photo Jennifer Gauthier](https://www.vmcdn.ca/f/files/glaciermedia/import/lmp-all/287980-basketball03.jpg;w=960;h=640;bgcolor=000000)
For one half on Monday night, the Kitsilano Secondary Blue Demons proved they have what it takes to match one of B.C.’s top high school boys basketball teams.
By the final buzzer, though, the Bulldogs of Sir Winston Churchill Secondary showed why few teams in the province can touch them.
The Bulldogs defeated the Blue Demons 107 to 85 at home Monday night in a fast-paced contest between the top two AAAA teams in the city. 
Churchill (22-3) is ranked second in the province, behind Surrey’s Tamanawis Secondary. Kitsilano (18-8) is currently unranked.
The teams closed out the first quarter tied at 21. Churchill forward Mindy Minhas, typically a dominant player, recorded only three points in the first.
But while the Kitsilano defence worked to shut down Minhas, Grade 10 forward Harry Liu came alive, scoring more than a dozen points before another Bulldog could come up with a basket.
He finished the quarter with 14 points, including two from outside the arc.
“We didn’t have the best first half,” said Churchill coach Rick Lopez. “If Harry didn’t hit those shots the way he did, we’d easily have been down 15 to 20 at the quarter.”
At their peak in the second quarter, Kits led the Bulldogs by 13 points. Anthony Hokanson dominated the Kits offence in the second, netting four three-pointers and a field goal.
However, repeated fouls by starters Howard Wang, James Hynes and Cole Bayne forced head coach Randy Coutts to go to his bench, costing Kits the momentum.     
“We got into a bit of foul trouble,” said Coutts. “The guys coming off the bench in the second quarter looked a little tentative. If we could have closed out the second, it would have been a totally different game.”
The Churchill side clawed its way back and finished the half on top 47-45, with a three-point buzzer-beater from Minhas.
The 6’4” senior committed to the University of B.C. before even starting his final year at Churchill, and his third-quarter play showed why top programs want him. Minhas put away 16 points in the third, and strong efforts from Liu and Mindy’s brother Gary effectively put the game out of reach 79-64.  
Kits was unable to control the gap in the fourth, lagging behind by 17 with two minutes left to play. Minhas and Liu wrapped up with 36 and 33 points, respectively.  
Lopez said his team’s comfortable mop-up in the second showed their depth, but added the team was nervy in the first half. 
“We needed to calm down, let the game come to us sometimes,” he said.
For their part, the Blue Demons have proven they can pick off top-ten teams in recent weeks, with an 89-71 win over the number-ten Yale Lions and a one-point loss to the number-six Terry Fox Ravens.    
“We’re on the doorstep, it’s a question of generating more defensively,” said Coutts.   
A rematch is on the horizon, with both teams playing in the city finals next week.
A Kitsilano win over Killarney Secondary Feb. 5 would put Kits in the city finals against Churchill. 
The provincial finals will be played in Langley in mid-March.
