Despite having eight players at the Penticton Christmas Classic Tournament the SAS Jr Golds basketball team rallied to third place.
Adding insult to injury, three of the eight players also had to deal with nagging injuries.
Coaches Keith Limber and Rob Neid praised the team for their strong performance under the difficult circumstances over last weekend.
The tournament was held at Penticton High and Princess Margret.
The Golds won their opening game against the host Lakers 61-15.
Daniel Wyss scored a game-high 14 points and added five steals on defence.
Silas Hecker and Gavin Limber both contributed vital secondary scoring, each adding 11 points.
Noah Jansen was one rebound away from a double-double as he put away 10 points.
In the semi-final match up, Jansen stared on offence, netting 20, but the Golds fell short in a heartbreaker 71-66. Prince George would go on to win the tournament. Evan Smith chipped in 15 including three long-range three-pointers.
Neid had a stat stuffing double-double with 11 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and five steals.
In the bronze medal game against George Elliot, the Golds prevailed 66-48, behind Neid’s second consecutive double-double with 10 rebounds and a game high 14 points.
Limber added 13 points while Jansen and Hecker each had 11 points.
Jansen and Neid both performed consistently well all weekend and were recognized as tournament all-stars – Jansen for his offence and Neid for his defence.
Jansen finished with a team high 41 points over the weekend while Neid was a team high +69 in efficiency.
The Golds are first in the league with a 2-0 regular season record and 10-3 heading into the break.
“We are pleased with our balanced scoring offensively, and overall success while dealing with several injuries,” said Coach Neid.
“We are looking forward to even more success after the break when the team will be healthy and firing on all cylinders.”