The Salmon Arm Secondary junior boys basketball team faced some of their most challenging opponents of the season.
But still managed to win two of three games at a tournament at Terry Fox Secondary on Jan 13 and 14.
The SAS Golds’ first game on Friday was against WJ Mouat from Abbotsford.
“We struggled to find our rhythm against this aggressive defensive team and lost 65-33. After the game, the general feeling was that we just don’t face this level of competition enough, but that is why we made the trip,” said head coach Rob Neid.
The game against WJ Mouat was only the Golds’ sixth this year against teams that have been ranked provincially.
Game two of the tournament for Salmon Arm was on Saturday against Walnut Grove of Langley, an elite program whose senior team are currently ranked #1 in AAAA.
“We settled down and found our form, winning 67-46 over another team that has been ranked provincially this season.”
The Golds faced the host Terry Fox of Port Coquitlam in their third game.
“This was another very satisfying win 50-40 for the Golds in winning the consolation side of this very competitive tournament,” Neid said.
Evan Smith had another strong game, hitting five three-pointers and finishing with 16 points. Hecker, Limber and Jansen added eight points each.
“It was a great tournament with seven of eight teams being AAAA, featuring many storied programs with rich basketball traditions and several ranked teams including the current #1 team in junior boys – North Delta. It was inspiring walking past a life-sized statue of Terry Fox as we entered the gym of the school named after him,” Neid said.
Coaches Keith Limber and Rob Neid praised the team for their performance on Saturday, keeping two strong teams to 50 or less points with tremendous team defense.
