The Bow Valley Bobcats came up a few buckets short in the Rocky View Sports Association's (RVSA) senior boys' basketball final on Saturday in Chestermere.
After making it to the championship game following a close battle with their cross-town rivals on Thursday, an injury-riddled Bobcats squad faltered against the host Chestermere Lakers in the banner game, losing 74-66.
It was a fitting final, as Bow Valley and Chestermere finished the regular season in first and second place, respectively, with an equal wins-losses record in the RVSA.
Nonetheless, Bow Valley head coach Kris Neilson said it was tough to lose in the championship game, noting a victory would have marked the Bobcats' first RVSA banner in senior boys' basketball.
“It was really disappointing to work so hard and then have a flat game in the finals with so many things going wrong,” he said, adding the Bobcats were hampered by injuries and foul trouble throughout the game.
“I thought Chestermere played their ‘A’ game. I thought they brought everything they had, and we didn’t," he said. "We came in with some key guys not able to play, and that really hurt us. We got into some foul trouble that we really couldn’t bounce back from. Some of our guys weren’t able to play that much of the game, who were super important for us.”
Two nights before their championship tilt, the Bobcats came out on top 76-69 in a thrilling semi-final against the Cochrane Cobras, in front of a packed and rowdy gymnasium at Bow Valley High School.
“I think the players on both teams were probably a bit nervous [for that one]," Neilson said. "I know our kids were pretty nervous, just because it was ‘that’ game. I think they started off slow, because of the nerves, but they were able to set that aside and play their game in the second half. It worked out well for us.”
Also happening in Chestermere on Saturday, the W.H. Croxford Cavaliers senior girls' team triumphed 63-47 in an all-Airdrie division final against the George McDougall Mustangs to win their third consecutive RVSA banner.
Both of Cochrane's senior girls' teams (the Cobras and the Bobcats) saw their playoff runs end in the semi-finals.
As for the junior varsity divisions, the Springbank Phoenix won the JV girls' title on March 4, beating the Cavaliers 90-32. In the JV boys' championship game, the Cavaliers replicated the senior girls' accomplishment, beating the Mustangs 70-62 to secure the RVSA banner.
Next up for both senior boys' and girls' teams from Cochrane will be the South Central Zones 3A tournaments, which get underway this week.
