With extreme cold leading to Bashaw’s senior boys basketball tournament being postponed last month, a smaller tournament was organized to coincide with the school’s junior variety tournament on Feb. 7 and 8.
For the Rebels senior squad, it was a tough weekend with the team falling 60-42 to Stettler’s junior varsity club and then were edged by Coronation 50-46. That placed them third in their round robin pool, where they won their consolation game against the third place team from the other pool.
Rebels head coach Kyle McIntosh was pleased with the play of his squad, especially since the team was supplementing its roster with some Grade 9 players, who were also playing for the junior varsity team in its tournament.
McIntosh added the tournament was tiring, with many players on the court for several games on the Friday and Saturday. Bashaw’s senior team also came off a huge victory in league play on Feb. 6, defeating rival Bawlf 62-59.
Junior side
Bashaw’s squad, which saw a number of Grade 9 players supplement the Grade 10 and 11s that were also playing for the senior team, were strong in their first two games of the four-team round robin tournament.
The Rebels started things off on Friday with a 51-16 win over Bowden. That was followed by a tight contest versus Consort, with the hosts handing on for a 56-54 victory after scoring a huge basket in the final seconds.
Unfortunately, the tournament would end with another close contest, this time Bashaw would wind up on the wrong side of a close score versus Duchess.
Alix victory
For the Rebels senior girls, it was a great weekend as the team won gold at the five-team event in Alix Feb. 7 and 8.
The round robin was good enough to net them first place and a spot in the final.
The Rebels defeated West Central from Rocky Mountain House 55-45, then edged out Lacombe’s junior varsity squad 33-32 before nearly doubling Edson 51-31. Bashaw’s only loss came to host Alix 50-43.
“We had the lead up to the fourth quarter, then couldn’t seem to buy a basket (against Alix),” said head coach Al Middleton.
Bashaw got top spot in the tie-breaker after having the same record as Alix and West Central following the round robin.
The Rebels would then roll to a 19-point victory over West Central for the gold medal.
