The St. Mary Sharks boys basketball team lost the bronze-medal match at last weekend’s home tournament, but coach Darcy Romanuik said he’s still pleased with their level of play.
Eight teams played in the 25th W.J. Kallal tournament, which comprises both 1A schools like St. Mary and also some 2A schools.
Despite having some tougher competition, though, the Sharks were able to hold their own.
The Sharks easily beat Notre Dame from Bonnyville in their first game on Friday, starting the tournament with a 72-44 win.
The played again Saturday morning, this time against 2A school Holy Redeemer from Edson.
“We were outclassed a little bit,” Romanuik said. “They’re probably one of the top five teams at the 2A level in the province right now.”
The Sharks weren’t able to keep up with Edson, which resulted in a 73-55 loss. Romanuik added that while Holy Redeemer won, they had the advantage of not just a larger pool of students to draw players from but also a much high proportion of Grade 12 students on the team, with seven starters compared to St. Mary’s two.
“The experience factor is so big at the high school level, I think that was the difference in that one,” he said.
In the bronze-medal game the Sharks faced their “arch-rivals” Parkland Immanuel Christian School, and although they were able to hold their own for most of the match, they ran out of steam near the end and lost 74-49.
“We got the score to within three points with seven minutes to go, then we sort of ran out of steam,” Romanuik said.
He added they did a good job of running a box defence against Parkland’s top scoring player, but the key difference was that many of Parkland’s other players were sinking baskets whereas the Sharks had a tough time finishing.
Overall, the level of competition at the tournament was high, Romanuik said, and the Sharks now have a better idea of what they need to work on for the rest of the season.
“The highlight of the tournament was the game against Parkland,” he said. “Even though we didn’t win. the kids just never quit.”
The Sharks will host Smoky Lake for a game tonight, Feb. 14, before heading to a tournament in Hay Lakes this weekend.
