The Breton Education Centre Bears convincing 85-61 victory over the Charlottetown Rural Raiders at the BEC Gym on the third day of the tournament guaranteed the host Bears a semifinal spot at the 28th annual New Waterford Coal Bowl Classic. Kyle MacDonald led the Bears with 23 points, while Soeren Henkel added 14 points.

The Breton Education Centre Bears then needed double overtime to do it, but they gave themselves a shot at their first Coal Bowl title in the tournament’s history. The Bears defeated the Frontenac Falcons of Kingston, Ont. 79-71 in the second of two semifinal games the Friday of the 28th annual New Waterford Coal Bowl Classic. This would be the first appearance in the championship game for the host team since 1987, as they moved on to challenge the Colonel Gray Colonels of Charlottetown for the crown.

The road to the final wasn’t an easy one. The Bears held a 53-50 lead after Colin Larade hit two free throws with 12 seconds left in regulation. But the Falcons shocked an electric partisan crowd packed into BEC Gym by sinking a three-point shot to tie the contest and send it to overtime.

Frontenac took that momentum into the first overtime and held a 67-65 lead with five seconds left on the clock. That’s when big Jonathan MacDonald laughed in the face of pressure and sunk both free throws to tie the contest and force yet another overtime.

The second overtime belonged to the Bears, thanks in part to the play of Kyle MacDonald, as he swooped in for a number of key lay-ups to open the gap and give the Bears a big lead. He finished the game with a game-high 24 points.

Soren Henkel followed with 21 points, shooting 9-for-13 from the charity stripe. Colin Larade scored 14, while Jonathan MacDonald was a monster on the glass with 15 boards. 

In the next day’s final, tournament MVP Kyle MacDonald, capped off an impressive week of basketball with a game-high 28 points to pace the Bears offense. MacDonald led the Bears in scoring in all of their Coal Bowl wins.

Along with MacDonald netting a game-high 28 points in the championship game, he also scored a game-high 24 points in BEC’s 79-71 semifinal win over Frontenac Falcons of Kingston, Ont. in double overtime. In round-robin play, MacDonald posted 23 points in the Bears 85-61 victory over the Charlottetown Rural Raiders, 37 points in BEC’s 100-79 triumph over the Polyvalante D’ Ancienne Lorette Athletiques of Quebec and 31 points in the host squad’s convincing 96-62 triumph over the North Colchester High School Mustangs of Tatamagouche, N.S.

Stephen MacLeod, winner of the tournament hustle award, followed with 21 points in the final, while Soren Henkel added 13 points and was commanding on the glass with15 rebounds.

And after a long, 27-year wait, the host team could finally call themselves champions of the New Waterford Coal Bowl Classic following an 86-76 victory over the Colonel Gray Colonels of Charlottetown on the final day of the 28th Coal Bowl.

The Coal Bowl Board of Directors are pleased to announce the 2009 Breton Education Centre Bears Basketball Team as Honorees for Coal Bowl 2025.