The Salmon Arm Seconday senior Golds basketball team wrapped up their season at the Valley Championships in Penticton last Thursday and Friday.
Salmon Arm played Kelowna Secondary on Thursday and Golds coach Rhys Waters said their opponents looked every bit the second-ranked team in the province.
“Their defense was on a different level than the two previous times we had played them,” Waters said.
The final score was 101-54 for Kelowna.
Dawson Mayes lead the Golds on the stat sheet with 16 points, Trajan Boyd wasn’t far behind with 11.
Following their loss to Kelowna Secondary, the Golds played a consolation game against Mount Boucherie.
In their final game of the season, the Golds opted to sit their Grade 12s for the final quarter in order to watch the players who will make up next year’s Golds team do their thing.
“These games can be tough to get up for, as it’s essentially meaningless, but we did a nice job of having senior players play hard, and next year’s group showcase their skills,” Waters said.
Mayes stole the show again with 21 points and eight rebounds while Trajan Boyd had 19 points and five steals.
In the end, Mount Boucherie inched out the victory 80-75.
The Golds closed out the season with a record of 19 wins and 18 losses in what Waters described as the most competitive schedule he has ever arranged as coach of the Golds.
“We lost eight games by less than 10, while winning by less than 10 13 times. Thirteen-to-eight in close games is respectable, and represents the grit of this year’s team that never gave up,” he said.
The Golds won two tournaments and finished in the top half of six of their seven tournaments. They finished the season fourth in their league.