Finishing sixth in the senior boys AA Okanagan Valley championships is not what the Princess Margaret Mustangs had in mind.
The Mustangs ended its season losing to the Summerland Rockets 61-57. Mustangs coach Brian Hurst said in their previous three games, the final result was close. This time, the Rockets had strong execution and made big shots at the end.
"It was not the way we wanted our season to end, but the boys played hard the whole season and were great representatives of our school," said Hurst.
The weekend in Kamloops started with a back and forth matchup against the Westsyde Whundas, with the Mustangs winning 60-53.
Kohl Linder and Gawk Klar hit to key shots from long distance to give the Mustangs a lead and win. They then had a
tough semifinal match against the eventual valley champs Valleyview Vikings. The Mustangs started strong with a 17-12 lead with and received strong play from Grade 10 guard Prabh Chahal. The Vikings came out strong in the second half and the Mustangs offence couldn't execute resulting in a 69-48 loss. Colton Van camp finished with 15 points.
Hurst said it is never easy for the Grade 12’s to play their last game.
"We had a great group of Grade 12’s this year," he said, naming Linder, Van Camp, Rylan Potter, Brett Lavigne, Duncan Woods and manager Brody Hormes. "The younger guys are looking forward to making another run next year, with a good group returning."
That group includes Paul Garcha, Klar, Daman Sarwara, Jacob Winstone and Chahal.
"As I walked in the gym this morning (Monday) they were back at it practicing, with a few of them (Chahal, under-16, Garcha and Klar U17) trying out for the UBCO junior Heat club teams," said Hurst.