The Senior Golds wrapped up their home schedule with an 85-73 loss to the KSS Owls, and an 83-60 loss to the Mount Boucherie Bears.
The Owls are currently ranked fourth in the AAAA division. The Golds led heading into the fourth quarter, but their offence dried up and were unable to close out the game. Josh Kujat led the way with 21 points, Lenny DePatie scored 15 and Dillan Olson added 13 points.
Last Tuesday versus the Bears, currently ranked eighth in the AAAA division, the Golds show signs of improvement after losing by a large margin earlier in the season.
Jordan Hislop led the charge with 14 points and DePatie added 13 of his own.
Over the weekend the Golds attended their final tournament, going 3-1 in Golden, losing only to the tournament winners and host Golden Eagles.
The Golds first beat Sahali 60-53, then defeated Mount Baker 75-29.
For the second time this season, the Golds beat LV Rogers 70-58.
In the final the Golds were unable to beat a strong Golden team, and lost 93-75.
The Golds boast an 18-11 record for the season, as they head into their final league game in Penticton and then Valleys in Rutland at the end if the month.
Ten of their losses this season were to provincially ranked teams.
The program is getting stronger and more competitive each year, and that’s really a reflection of how hard the players are working.
With 10 potential returning players for next year, the Golds are looking to carry the momentum into next season.
Junior Golds
The Salmon Arm Secondary Junior Golds basketball team captured the North Okanagan Zone Championships last weekend.
After a solid regular season, the Golds received a bye to the semi-final where they played Vernon Secondary.
The Junior Golds were trailing by one with about a minute- and-a-half remaining, but managed to pull off the 49-45 win.
Standout performances late in the game by Matt Cooper, Trajan Boyd and Tyson Qiodravu sealed a spot in the semi-final for the Golds.
Leading scorers were Dawson Mayes with 16 points and Matt Cooper with 11.
This put the Golds into the final against top-seeded Fulton, from Vernon.
The Golds built up a small lead by half-time as a result of Cooper’s accurate shooting, leading to a 17-point first half.
The second half saw the Golds get into foul trouble, but excellent contributions from Riley Chmilar, Nathan Chorlton and Cooper Marchand off the bench helped the Golds to a 54-45 victory.
In the final, Matt Cooper led the team with 22 points, while Mayes had 12 and Rowan McDonald eight points.
The Junior Golds are now off to the Valley Championships, which will take place this weekend in Kelowna.
