It turns out the first couple of tournament victories and runner-up placings for the Mountain Christian School (MCS) Rams basketball team weren’t flukes.

The latest successful outings included a second-place showing at a tournament in Prince George and a first-place performance at a contest in Fort Nelson.

Not bad for a team that has finished middle of the pack at many tournaments in the past or been a bridesmaid several times but never a bride.

“It is surprising that we have done so well this year, but not completely unexpected,” said MCS coach Joshua Slykhuis.

For starters, the team has a very dedicated group of players who have been under Slykhuis’ tutelage for three to five years. Many of them play pick-up ball in the off-season and take part in off-season basketball camps. As well, because they have played together since Grade 8 or 9, each player knows his teammates’ habits, strengths and weaknesses.

And then there’s the team’s defence, which Slykhuis calls his club’s biggest secret.

“Our biggest secret is our defense. It is called Jesus Defense, based on the bible verse in John where Jesus says no greater love has a man than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. The premise is that if your teammate’s man beats him, Jesus Defense says that you step in and take his man. It's the ultimate help defense. If a main player had four fouls and is about to obviously commit his fifth, one of the other players will commit the foul before the main player has a chance to and takes the foul for him. This is our team philosophy and covers everything from homework to conduct on and off the court.”

The latest success came in Fort Nelson, where the club won the title of a four-team tournament that had a mix of junior (Grade 10 and younger) and senior (Grade 11 and 12) players.

The Rams were a perfect 4-0 in the competition that started with a 10-point victory over the host senior team.

The Dawson Creek team then faced the Fort Nelson junior team. The Rams had trouble building a lead, but a press in the second half worked and they ended up winning by 20.

Mountain Christian School beat the North Peace Secondary School’s junior team 42-27 in the Dawson Creek school’s third match. The Rams kept the NPSS club out of the paint and forced the Fort St. John team to shoot from the outside, while at the other end the Rams slowed down the game and used their “high post to get ‘give-n-gos’ and set up shots for the guards.”

The title match featured a re-match against the Fort Nelson senior team before a boisterous crowd.

“We only won by four points as I made the mistake of playing too many of my juniors at once, and they (Fort Nelson) got a quick six points in the fourth with only a few minutes left. I put in my finishing line with three minutes left to keep the game tight and slow it down for us.”

The Rams also did well at a Prince George contest that they were invited to at the last minute and finished as the runner-up, despite bringing just seven players for the round-robin contest.

The Rams opened with a 68-66 loss to Fraser Lake. The Rams missed a last-second opportunity against Fraser Lake, which will probably be ranked No. 1 in the zone for single-A schools.

“Our defense was successful in this game from stopping the fast-break opportunities and keeping the garbage point out of the paint, however Fraser Lake shot amazingly in the third, at one point shooting 10 for 12 from the 18-foot-plus range. We got ahead in the fourth but couldn't hold on to get the win.”

However, after that disappointing loss, the Rams rattled off two straight wins, beginning with a 50-44 victory over Cedars Christian School from the host community. The short-benched Rams slowed down the game, played tenacious defence, hammered the ball into the post and attacked the basket relentlessly.

The Rams played the Northside Christian School in a match immediately after facing Cedars and came out on top 47-39.

“I told my guys from the outset, all we have to do was keep the game close going into the fourth quarter and we will win. It was a tie-game going into the fourth quarter, and my guys had this funny look on their faces, and one of the guys said to me, 'coach we got this, it’s a tie right now but we have been saving some energy for the end'. My guys only allowed one basket the entire fourth quarter,” explained Slykhuis.

The Rams will take part in a couple more tournaments this month as they prepare themselves for the single-A zone championship in Tumbler Ridge, Feb. 23-25.

Slykhuis is hoping to go in ranked second or third of the 11 eligible teams in the northern zone, with the goal of finishing in the top-two and qualifying for the provincial championship.

“This year is five years in the making, so we want to make sure that we put everything in to it. As long as we leave everything on the court at the end of the season we will be happy. My goal as a coach is to make sure that none of my guys has any regrets for this year.”