The Salmon Arm Secondary (SAS) Golds basketball team won all three games they played at a tournament that took place at Valleyview Secondary in Kamloops Jan. 5 to 7.
Head coach Rhys Waters says his team worked hard for three well-deserved wins.
“Not one player puts their needs ahead of team needs, and that is pretty special when you have 12 guys pulling unconditionally in the same direction,” he said.
The opening game of the tournament saw SAS win a close game against North Kamloops 71-67.
Rowan McDonald led the scoring against NorKam with 31 points and 13 rebounds.
Dawson Mayes had 16 points, eight rebounds and seven assists.
The Golds came up against Westsyde in the tournament semifinals. Waters says the game was a low-scoring affair, as he expected, because both teams are known to play tough defence.
“We were down the entire game, which can cause teams to panic, but we stayed true to our systems and style of play. Tied with 90 seconds left, we ended up winning by eight due to clutch free throws and defence.”
The Golds took the game 55-47.
Dawson Mayes and Trajan Boyd had standout games against Westsyde. Mayes had 22 points and Boyd had 18.
Salmon Arm faced College Heights’ from Prince George in the final game of the tournament.
Waters said he was impressed by College Heights’ endurance and tenacity. The team from Prince George played the whole game without subbing players.
“We were up 24 and I thought we had put them away, but they pushed back hard,” Waters said.
The Golds took the win 78-72.
McDonald had another strong game against College Heights with 24 points. Dawson Mayes recorded 22 points, nine rebounds and 10 assists.
McDonald took home tournament MVP honours for his outstanding weekend.
Waters says he was impressed by his team’s energy from the bench, particularly how even players who don’t play very often support what’s going on on the floor.
The Golds are back in action for their home tournament, the Nugget, on Jan. 13. Their first game of the weekend is on Friday at 5:30 p.m.
The opening game will feature the Barry Dearing Foundation bean bag fundraiser, with prizes donated by local businesses.
Entry to all the games is free, and there will be popcorn by donation as well as a full concession available during the tournament.
