The R.F. Staples senior boys basketball team came home with some hardware after a hard-fought tournament Dec. 7-8 in Edson.
The boys won both their round robin games and played in the championship only to come up short of the gold the final to the home team from Parkland High School in Edson by a score of 78-52.
The T-Birds made quick work of teams from Whitecourt (80-73) and Devon (58-37) to get to the championship though.
“This weekend was quite the turnaround from our last tournament. We won second place. In our championship game we endured many hardships as a team,” said coach Matti Hurst. “My boys had fought hard and went through hell, always with their heads held high. They played with their hearts with absolutely no shame coming home with second place.
“They didn’t only play, support each other and unite as a team, but instead like a tight-knit family. I am so incredibly proud of my boys and how they came together when we, as a team, needed it most.”
The senior girls from R.F. Staples played in the same tournament, but didn’t have quite the same result, mostly due to several injuries, said coach Rod Carlyon.
The girls finished with a 1-2 record after defeating Drayton Valley 78-28, but lost to Devon, 47-39, to find themselves in the consolation final.
“Anytime you’re involved in an eight-point game, that’s super,” said Carlyon. “The game against Drayton Valley, we won. We had big contributions from everybody.
“We just got on a roll and they just couldn’t get going. That put us in the consolation final.”
Injuries continued to plague the team throughout the weekend and there were only seven players available for the consolation game. The T-birds dropped the game 61-38.
Both boys and girls teams will travel to Athabasca Dec. 13 to take on Edwin Parr Composite.
