The H.J. Cody Lakers fought hard during Zones last week for the chance to go to provincials, but missed out in overtime of the final game.
The senior boy’s team played three games during the Zones playoffs, which consisted of two games against the Wetaskiwin Sabres and one against the West Central Rebels.
After a close first game against the Sabres on March 5, the Lakers lost in the final minutes of the game.
A loss meant moving on to play the Rebels on March 7. In both games, the Lakers had the home court advantage.
The Lakers rebounded from the loss against the Sabres to win over the Rebels.
The win put the Lakers in a delicate position. The team from Camrose had already secured their spot in the provincial tournament, but there was still one open.
“We have a really tough division this year, and there are two provincial spots open for us,” said Lakers’ Head Coach Kelly Steadman.
On March 9 the Lakers had a rematch with the Sabres, this time on Wetaskiwin’s court.
It was an incredibly close game. Just like the game earlier in the week, the Lakers and Rebels were fairly even in both defense and offense.
It was in the final minutes of the game that everything had changed.
The Lakers had an eight-point lead on the Sabres and with the time ticking down quickly, it looked like the Sylvan’s team would be heading to provincials.
Unfortunately, that eight-point lead was swallowed up quickly by a few consecutive turnovers.
With only five seconds left the Lakers still had the lead. The one-point lead was all they needed to finish the game and head to the championship.
A last second foul gave Wetaskiwin the chance to close the game and tie the game as the time ran out.
The Lakers and the Sabers faced-off in am over-time bought to see how would move on.
Unfortunately the Sabres capitalized on the time given in OT and secured the lead and the win.
The senior boy’s Lakers finished their season in third, after fighting long and hard over the last few months.
The teams from Camrose and Wetaskiwin will both travel to Cochrane March 15-17.
