Lucas Punkari
Having played one of their best games of the season in the semi-finals on Saturday, the Muskie senior boys’ basketball team just “ran out of steam” in the final of the annual Kenora Invitational Tournament.
Fort High was edged 65-60 by the Transcona Titans (Winnipeg) in the championship tilt, with Justin Anderson and Chris Legg leading the way with 16 and 14 points, respectively.
“It was our third game of the day and they [Transcona] were only playing in their second game, so that played into things a little bit,” Muskie head coach Paul Noonan noted.
After bombing Sioux Lookout 80-43 score on Friday, the Muskies upended Dryden 67-32 to earn a berth into the semi-finals against the Murdoch MacKay Clansmen (Winnipeg).
Up against a team Noonan felt was much stronger than the eventual champion Titans, the black-and-gold ran the Clansmen all over the court en route to a 74-43 triumph.
Josh Strain led the way with a 22-point performance.
“We played really well,” Noonan enthused. “We came out really strong and our ‘1-3-1’ front really smothered them.
“And the guys played exactly as we hoped they would.”
Despite coming up short in the final, Noonan felt his squad’s performance in Kenora should bode well for their final two regular-season games before the NorWOSSA playoffs next Friday (Feb. 18).
The Muskies were in Dryden yesterday to face the Eagles before hosting the Broncos today.
“I think that we’re very fortunate to have played in a number of tournaments this year,” Noonan stressed.
“The players are healthy, which is a good thing, and our team is looking strong, so I think they’re ready to make that final push into the NorWOSSA [playoffs],” he added.
