The Osoyoos Rattlers senior boys’ basketball team staged a sensational comeback to win the annual Osoyoos Rattlers Senior Basketball Tournament on home court Saturday. Photo by Keith Lacey.
The Osoyoos Rattlers senior boys’ basketball team made sure the gymnasium at Osoyoos Secondary School was the loudest place in town Saturday night as they staged a remarkable second-half comeback to claim the Osoyoos Rattlers Senior Basketball tournament title.
The hometown Rattlers seemingly couldn’t make a shot in falling behind 28-14 at halftime to the Mount Boucherie Secondary School Bears from Kelowna.
But that all changed in the second half as they went from not making a shot to simply not missing as they staged a heated comeback to defeat the Bears 62-57 and claim the tournament title.
Both teams headed into the final game of the round-robin tournament undefeated as they had both defeated Grand Forks Secondary School and Selkirk High School from Slocan in earlier action.
Rattlers head coach Casey Brouwer said his players regrouped at halftime and made a commitment to play much better basketball in the second half, but even he admitted he didn’t think they were capable of overcoming a 14-point deficit.
“I went into the dressing room at halftime and told the boys to simply forget about the first half and pretend this was a new game,” said Brouwer. “We didn’t play badly at all in the first half, but we couldn’t make a shot to save our lives and I had a feeling we could turn things around if we continued to play hard and started making a few shots.
“But to go from making nothing to making everything was just incredible. The boys went out and gave 100 per cent and to come back the way they did and win this tournament is just amazing.”
Brouwer, who works for the Town of Osoyoos, is in his first year as the senior boys head coach after coaching the junior boy’s team as OSS last year and junior girls for several years before that.
To be able to win the school’s annual senior invitational tournament on home court before a large and appreciate audience is something his players are going to remember for a very long time, said Brouwer.
“I asked them at halftime to play hard for their school, for themselves, for their parents in the stands, for their coach and for the love of the game and they came out and played the best basketball they have played all season,” he said. “As a coach, I just couldn’t be prouder of these guys. They played their hearts out and came back from a huge hole to beat a very good team and I’m very proud of how they responded.”
After winning a tournament a couple of weeks ago in Barrier, the Rattlers are proving to be one of the best senior boys teams in the South Okanagan for a school this size, said Brouwer.
“We have 10 wins and only two losses in regular season and tournament play, which is fantastic for a school this size,” he said. “When I decided to coach this team, I had a three-year plan to create a program where we’re dedicated to winning every season. To have so much success in our first year is a real good sign that we’re heading in the right direction.”
Members of the winning Rattlers squad include Robin Malcolm, Adam Crouch, Gurvir Gill, Lucki Mundi, Shiraz Brar, Steven Lindsay, Jewan Brar, P.J. Maddalena, Aidan Murr and Simran Tejay.
The Rattlers senior girls also had a very strong tournament as they defeated Grand Forks and Mount Sentenial High School from Slocan in their first two games. They faced Pleasant Valley Secondary School from Armstrong in the final round-robin game.
Because Pleasant Valley had also defeated Grand Forks and Mount Sentenial in earlier round-robin play, the final against the OSS Rattlers would determine the tournament champion.
Pleasant Valley got off to a fast start and never trailed as they eked out a 48-33 victory to win the game and tournament.
The Rattlers defeated Grand Forks 52-37 and Mount Sentenial 51-27 before losing in the final game.
