Keremeos players try to throw up obstacles to Arshdeep Gill of the Osoyoos Rattlers as he advances with the ball in a game earlier this month. On Saturday, Keremeos eliminated Osoyoos in the Valleys tournament. (Richard McGuire file photo)
When all was said and done, the Osoyoos Rattlers senior boys basketball team poured every ounce of effort and energy they had, but it wasn’t enough as their season came to a heartbreaking end Saturday night on their home court.
With a raucous crowd of more than 400 fans cheering them on, the Rattlers played their best basketball of the season in jumping out to a seemingly insurmountable 32-7 lead early in the second quarter.
However, things more or less fell apart after that as the Similkameen Elementary and Secondary School (SESS) Sparks made a dramatic comeback to earn a 66-62 victory over the Rattlers, in a game that came down to the final seconds.
The winner of this game would fill the third and final spot in advancing to the Provincial Senior Boys 1A Basketball Championships.
The Rattlers advanced to the game against the Sparks by defeating Barriere 75-65 earlier on Saturday.
“Our guys poured every ounce of energy and effort that they had, but it wasn’t enough,” said Rattlers head coach Casey Brouwer. “They were the better team .. and our season is over, but I couldn’t be prouder of the boys because they gave it everything they had.”
With three of his starters, including the talented brothers Kavneer and Gurial Dhaliwal playing with injuries, the Rattlers hung tough and actually had a chance to win the game with only 10 seconds to go when Kurial Dhaliwal scored a basket that could have put them up 63-62, but he was called for an offensive foul for charging.
The Sparks scored on the ensuing inbound play to put the game out of reach.
Several members of the Rattlers laid on the court with their heads down after realizing their dream of returning to the provincial championships was over.
Brouwer said his team has had to rely on its starters and a thin bench all season and he credited SESS with taking advantage of that and applying an effective full-court press after they had fallen behind by 25 points early in the second quarter.
“They went to the full-court press and we just couldn’t handle it,” he said. “They played very well after going down by 25 and they deserved to win. I give them all the credit because our guys kept trying … and we had a chance to win at the end, but we came up just short.”
After being down 32-7 early in the second quarter, the Sparks’ full-court press changed the game as they caused numerous turnovers and cut the lead to 36-23 at halftime.
Their dominance continued early in the second quarter as they went on a 15-3 run to start the second half and cut the lead to 39-38 midway through the third quarter.
The Rattlers managed to hold on to a 51-48 lead after three quarters, but, but they finally gave up the lead (57-56) with just under five minutes to go.
They never regained the lead again.
Arshdeep Gill scored 19 points to lead the Rattlers, while Gurlal Dhaliwal added 17.
Sasha Zebroff was virtually unstoppable for the Sparks in the second half and he ended up with 27 points.
Heritage Christian 75, Kelowna Christian 65
In a mild upset, Heritage Christian claimed the championship trophy in the 1A Boys valley championships with the win over its in-city rival.
Raymond Barrett scored 26 points to lead the Saints. Samuel Bell added 21 and Isaac Opuama knocked down four treys for 12 points.
Carter Martens scored 27 points for Kelowna Christian. Cruz Anderson added 10.
Both Kelowna teams have already secured their place in the provincial championship tournament by reaching the finals.
KEITH LACEY
Osoyoos Times
