The Terry Fox Ravens coasted to an 11th place finish at the boys AAA basketball provincial championships last weekend at the Langley Events Centre.
Ravens' co-coach Brad Petersen said the team simply ran out of steam on Saturday during their last game of the tournament against the Claremont Spartans.
"It was our fifth game in five days and you could tell," Petersen told the Tri-City News on Tuesday. "We couldn't get into a rhythm."
Calling it a very tough game, Petersen said there were a lot of foul calls and the Ravens couldn't deliver from the free throw line. However, Terry Fox forward Trevor Casey was eight-for-eight in field goals.
Petersen said of the loss that "by no means does that put a dark cloud on our season."
Four Ravens' players ended their high school basketball career on the court Saturday - Casey, Cam Nicol, Bryce Rickaby and Adam Hoo. Petersen doesn't know Casey's post-secondary plans for the fall, speculating that he will most likely be playing football.
"That's his sport," said Petersen.
As for the next chapter in senior Ravens' basketball, Petersen is excited about the group of Grade 10 and 11s coming up.
"They were able to get a taste and be competitive with some of the top teams in the province," said Petersen of the boys who played in the tournament. "We definitely need to put in a lot of work in the summer."
High school basketball spring league starts in April. Petersen said there's been talk of traveling opportunities for the team. Terry Fox will also host their annual Ravens' only basketball camp this summer, just to keep the players' minds on the sport as much as they can, added Petersen.
"It's [high school basketball] really competitive," he said. "You see more and more now that teams are doing a lot more work in the summer."
Last week, Petersen lamented handing over the provincial and MVP trophies that the senior Ravens basketball team won this time last year.
"It's tough to see them go, but definitely something that we want to get back," he said.
