They played with heart all season long, but the Howe Sound Secondary School senior boys' basketball team's year is over.
At the North Shore Senior Secondary Boys' AA Zone Championships, the Sounders were defeated twice in the double knockout tournament, putting an end to their season.
On Monday (Feb. 16), the Sounders were in tough against the tournament-host Windsor Dukes from North Vancouver. The Dukes went undefeated during the season, and as a result were given home-court advantage throughout the tournament.
The Sounders stayed right with the Dukes out of the gate, and trailed by only a point at the half, but the Dukes turned up the heat in the final two quarters and shut down the offensive efforts of the Sounders, who lost the contest 71-49.
"They got into a running game and we couldn't keep up," said coach Ron Roberts.
"They go deeper on the bench than us, and they just closed us down in the second half. They rebounded better and shot the ball better. We played really well to stay with them for a half, but they were better prepared - they're a really good team."
In the Sounders second game on Tuesday (Feb. 17), the boys played an exciting wire-to-wire match against the St. Thomas Aquinas Saints.Fighting to keep their championship chances alive, the Sounders found themselves in an up-and-down, back-and-forth contest which lasted until the final minute. The Sounders led 32-31 at the half, playing a well-disciplined game and shooting and passing well until foul trouble reared its ugly head.
"We were playing really well but we got into some foul trouble which wasn't fun," said Roberts. "The boys played excellent right down to the wire. In a game like that, someone's got to lose.
"We gave them a good run but the ball just fell in for them at the end and not for us - that's basketball."
For Roberts, this was his first season coaching a senior boys' team and his first season behind the bench in 10 years. He expressed his sincere thanks to his assistant coach Dave Lane and teacher sponsor/ bus driver Pat Weiss, saying, "I couldn't have done it without them."
Roberts is unsure whether he'll be back behind the bench next year for a second tour of duty, but definitely enjoyed this season.
"I had a great experience with this young group of guys. You hear problems all the time about the youth in Squamish, but I've got 12 examples of what's really good about Squamish youth. I couldn't be prouder - they're a great bunch of kids and it was a privilege to coach them."
