Heading into playoffs

Times Reporter 

 

The Strathmore senior boys Spartans hosted their annual invitational at the school Feb. 15 and 16. Eight teams competed in the basketball event with each vying for the top spot. 

The Spartans dropped all three games this past weekend, said coach Kyle Larson.  

“We played well against Camrose, the eventual tournament champs, but we lack a bit of depth in scoring and eventually Camrose was able to just put up more points,” said Larson.

“(It was) a similar scenario in Game 2 where the boys put in a very good effort and came out firing against Beaumont but again we lacked a bit of scoring in the second half and Beaumont was able to edge away from the boys.  

“The last game of the weekend for us was against Drumheller and once again the boys came out and played a strong first half and found ourselves only down by four (points) at the half but the story of the weekend again unfolded in the second half as we just couldn’t make shots in the third quarter and Drumheller increased the lead to double digits and went on to victory from there.”

Larson said this season has been one of gaining experience. When attending 1A and 2A level tournaments the boys have been able to show a strong front when competing and fare pretty well. When heading further up the level ladder into the 3A events, Larson said, their game isn’t quite where it needs to be yet. With playoffs coming up each team is practicing harder than ever to put their best effort forward. 

“For our high school boys the league playoffs will be a tall challenge this year but we are hopeful to be quite competitive at the JV boys zone tournament this year,” said Larson. 

Consistency and scoring have been a concern throughout the season for the team, and Larson thinks those issues may continue heading into zones.