It was a barnburner of a basketball game, but Samuel Robertson Technical Secondary pulled off the victory, according to SRT senior boys' basketball coach Chris Page.

At their second meeting of the year on Jan. 19, Garibaldi Secondary and Samuel Robertson Technical Secondary senior boys provided the small crowd in attendance with "a back and forth game that needed overtime to decide it," said Page.

After an uneventful first quarter that finished with the two teams tied at eight points apiece, the pace picked up in the second.

Midway through the quarter SRT went on a 9-0 run to take a 22-15 lead only to see Garibaldi storm back, led by John Xue's two three-pointers and eight points in the quarter, to forge a slim 23-22 lead going into half.

The third quarter saw Garibaldi hold and extend their lead to 37-34.

"The game hit a feverous pitch in the final quarter," noted Page.

"SRT opened with a 7-0 run only to again watch Garibaldi push back with their own 8-0 run," he said.

Excitement grew in the crowd and on the benches as the three-point shooting, on both squads, caught fire.

Five different players: John Park, Jesse Erhardsen, and Mike Kreutz for SRT, and Val Plokhotniouk and Gene Wong for Garibaldi, all hit from beyond the arc in the final minutes of regulation.

The quarter saw seven lead changes resulting in the teams deadlocked at 55 when the final buzzer sounded.

A battle of the guards erupted in overtime, said Page.

On the outstanding shooting of Plokhotniouk, who had two three-pointers in overtime, six in total for the game, and a game high 20 points, Garibaldi charged out to a commanding 60-55 lead in the opening minutes of overtime.

"But SRT's senior guards had an answer. Kreutz dropped in two three-pointers of his own, finishing overtime with 10 points and 17 for the game, while Carson Currie put the game away with SRT's final two buckets finishing with a team high of 18 points," retold Page.

The final score was a close 70-67 victory for SRT lifting their record to 2-1 in league play.