In a fitting conclusion to the Kelowna Owls’ magical basketball season, Grant Shephard hung from the rim late in the B.C. High School Boys Basketball Association quad-A championship game in Langley after an ally-oop dunk — with the ball falling to the floor beneath his feet.

A human exclamation mark.

Moments later, the 6-foot-9 post, and Active Care Athlete Of The Month, was confirmed as the most valuable player in the 16-team provincial tournament that had never before been won by an Okanagan team in its 71-year history.

Shephard, having scored 31 points and grabbing 22 rebounds in the 87-72 victory over the Tamanawis Wildcats of Surrey, had left no doubt about who was counted on most to lead the deep and well-balanced Kelowna Secondary School team to the historical accomplishment.

Teammate Mason Bourcier, who will be back next year with Shephard in an attempt to repeat as provincial champions, knew early in the championship game that it was to be a special night for the Owls and Shephard, also selected as a tournament first-team all-star.

“Grant really came out with a lot of intensity right from the get-go tonight,” said Bourcier, himself voted to the tournament’s second all-star team. “He was all over the court doing so many good things, especially rebounding. When you’ve got a big man like that playing so well and with the other team having to respect him so much, it opens things up for the guards and makes our game a lot easier.”

Meanwhile, Shephard, an MVP and/or all-star in several tournaments during the Owls 31-4 campaign that saw them go 23-0 against B.C. teams, conceded that the championship game at the Langley Events Centre in front of 4,410 fans — most of whom were cheering on the Fraser Valley-champion Wildcats — might have been his best of the season.

“I wanted to make sure that I was at my best . . . that I needed to be for the team, especially for the guys who were playing their last game,” said Shephard, who averaged 18.5 points and 15 rebounds per game in the Owls’ four provincial tournament wins. “And when we got out on the floor in front of all those people — most of them cheering for Tamanawis — it really got me going. Things couldn’t have worked out better.”

Remarkably, Shephard, Bourcier and 6-foot-9 teammate Owen Keyes — all still only in Grade 11 — will have the opportunity to do it all over again next year for an Owls team ready ranked No 2 for the 2016-17 season.

And Shephard will no doubt be an even more dominant figure, having spent a good portion of the spring and summer playing for provincial and national teams.

A member of the Canadian U16 team that won a silver medal at the FIBA Americas tournament in Argentina in 2015, Active Care Athlete of the Month Shephard, the only B.C. player on the national squad, is considered a sure thing to wear the Team Canada colours again in May at the U17 world championship tournament in Spain — and a slam dunk to be on a Team B.C. age-group team for a fourth straight year.

Being a part of such high-profile teams, Shephard, who began playing the hard-court game in the Kelowna Minor Basketball Association in Grade 4 and began high school ball with the Okanagan Mission Huskies, will continue to be sought after by NCAA Division 1 teams in the United States in his senior year.

He’s already been wooed by several teams south of the border, including the University of Washington, the University San Francisco and Yale University — among others.

He’s planning to accept invitations to visit some of the universities, and hopes to attract interest from more of them during the coming months.

“Playing at a Div. 1 (NCAA) school is definitely a major goal of mine,” says Shephard, who is creeping toward the 6-foot-10 mark. “I’ll be working on being more pro-active in getting my name out there so that I have as many options as possible.”

Which comes as no surprise to his KSS coach, Harry Parmar, who predicted before the past season began that his prize post, and Active Care Athlete of the Month, was prize material for post-secondary schools in the U.S.

“Grant is just so athletic. And he does so many things around the hoop that you can’t teach,” said Parmar, who has been at the helm of the senior Owls for the past nine years. “He’s getting better all the time at rebounding; he can guard at the perimeter; drive hard to the rim; and he already has a nice touch from 15 to 17 feet.

“There are even whispers that Grant could get to the “show” (NBA). And while that’s quite a thought, who knows. Kids from B.C. have done it before,” added Parmar.

Active Care Athlete of the Month Honourable Mention

Hallie Jenkins

Hallie Jenkins raced to a gold medal and four silver at the B.C Alpine Ski Association U14 championships in Rossland recently.

The Big White Ski Club member captured gold in the single-run slalom on Red Mountain, finishing more than a second ahead of her nearest rival in the field of 89 racers. She added silver medals in both single-run giant slalom races and the two-run GS, as well as a second single-slalom race.

The multiple podium finishes contributed to her being selected to Team B.C. for the prestigious international Whistler Cup being held this week in Whistler.

Jenkins was coming off gold-medal performances in both the two-run giant slalom and two-run slalom events at the B.C. Winter Games at Apex Ski Resort in Penticton in February.

Isaac Athans

Isaac Athans of Kelowna and a member of the Apex Ski Club in Penticton, followed up gold-medal performances at the B.C. Winter Games on his home mountain by claiming two gold medals and three bronze at the B.C. Alpine Ski Association U14 championships in Rossland recently.

Racing in a field of 90 skiers, the 13-year-old finished first in the second of two slalom races, while adding gold in a single giant slalom race. His bronze-medal efforts came in a single slalom event, a single GS and a two-run giant slalom.

On the strength of his overall finishes this racing season, Athans was named to the six-member (three girls and three boys) U14 B.C. Team for this week’s Whistler Cup.

The Whistler Cup has grown to become the largest ski race of its kind in North America for athletes 11 to 14 years old. About 400 young athletes from 21 countries participated in three days of racing last year.