A 65-61 win over the Fulton Maroons gave the Pen High Lakers third-place during the Fred Fedorak Christmas Classic.
Lakers coach Brad Findlay was focused on how his players were performing on the court. He wanted to see intensity and a physical side to their game.
He was also looking for more variety out of his offence. He got what he was looking for.
The Lakers opened the tournament with a 55-45 win. Jacob Willock and Keenan Findlay led with 18 and 10 points respectively. Their second game came against the Sardis Falcons from Chilliwack. Ranked No. 9 as of Dec. 19, the Falcons led 46-37 at the half. The Falcons ran away with a 71-39 win.
“They are ranked that way for a reason,” said Findlay. “It was great to see a team from out of the valley coming up. They have good size. Have a couple provincial team guards. They handled us fairly easy. We ran out of steam in the second half and got into some foul trouble and couldn’t run with them.”
Sunny Jhaj led the Lakers with nine points.
In their final game, in which they defeated the Maroons for third, Parker Berry put in a strong performance, which included finishing with nine points.
“He hit some clutch points for us and big rebounds in the overtime frame,” said Findlay. “Jordan Farmer ended up with 13 points.”
Findlay liked what he saw from his group winning close games.
“It shows the boys are playing crucial times with confidence, poise and composure,” he said. “It’s a hard thing to teach or coach.”
Princess Margaret Mustangs played in the final against the Falcons and lost 71-40 after being down 23-4 after the first quarter.
