Stettler’s senior boys basketball team enjoyed a third-place finish in a tournament in Lacombe, ending the weekend with a win over the host team.
The boys from William E. Hay Composite High School began the weekend on Friday, Feb. 13, with a 67-50 loss to Sylvan Lake’s H. J. Cody School.
Coach Warren Aspenes attributed the loss to Sylvan Lake’s superior shooting, noting that the Stettler team did not lack for scoring opportunities.
On Saturday morning, the team defeated Rimbey 63-38. Aspenes remarked on his team’s strong defense and said moving the ball around more opened up more opportunities to score.
The team then faced Lacombe in the consolation final, winning 79-50.
“The boys continued to improve their team play both on offense and defense,” said Aspenes, crediting the scoring and rebounding skills of Kyle Poapst, Jordan Lane and Clayton Page with “making life difficult” for Lacombe’s defense.
Aspenes also said shooting guard Tim Gardner made a strong offensive contribution on Saturday, while Terrence Corbett showed continuing improvement after recovering from a broken hand.
The senior boys also visited H. J. Cody School for a regular season game on Tuesday, Feb. 10, losing 67-55.
Aspenes said the team put in an acceptable effort on defense, but suffered in scoring, noting, “We could not hit anything in the first half.”
He said the boys were still struggling with too many turnovers but recovered somewhat in the second half of the game, in which they scored 38 points. Jordan Lane was the top scorer with 13 points.
Stettler’s senior girls also visited Sylvan Lake on Feb. 10, coming out with a loss, but further details were not available. The team also competed in the tournament in Lacombe over the weekend.
The William E. Hay senior boys and girls are hosting a home tournament on the weekend of Feb. 20 and 21.