Skip to content

CACHS Knights win bronze in ASAA 1A Basketball Provincials at home

On their home court in front of a raucous hometown crowd, the Central Alberta Christian High School Knights finished the basketball season as winners.
11061007_web1_180318-RDA-CACHS-Knights-bronz-2-web

On their home court in front of a raucous hometown crowd, the Central Alberta Christian High School Knights finished the basketball season as winners.

The Knights senior boys earned a bronze medal at the Alberta Schools Athletic Association 1A Basketball Provincial Championships in Lacombe, taking out the Stirling Lakers 82-69 for the victory.

“It was exciting. They used everything that we’ve been working on all year long and put it all on the floor,” said head coach Veronica DenOudsten.

“It was an amazing performance by them and they deserve this third place win. I was very proud of them. Awesome day.”

CACHS jumped out to a 20-2 lead in the first quarter, but the resilient Lakers battled to cut the deficit to just 35-34 at half time.

The Knights led for much of the third quarter and extended the advantage to 10 points heading into the fourth, but with five minutes to play in the period the Lakers again battled back within four.

“You expect it. The energy is there and they are a quality team. They have some quality athletes that can shoot. We got a little tired, that was a little expected,” DenOudsten said.

“That’s how our season has gone. The big thing for us all year was to stay in control and stay focused. That’s why I’m so proud, after a long year, they were able to put it all on the floor.”

It was Knights captain and grade 12 point guard Matthew Baong who hit a dagger for the home side, nailing a deep three-pointer at 1:48 of the fourth quarter to put CACHS up 78-64.

Baong had a game-high 26 points in the bronze medal victory.

“Matthew is an awesome kid. He got that three-point play with an extra one, it’s awesome,” DenOudsten said.

“He’s had a few tough games, struggling offensively but he’s never let it get him down. He’s always been a strong captain and for him to get some points along the way was awesome. So happy for him.”

Keith Tenbrinke also chipped in 12 points for the Knights.

DenOudsten added that the battle and the intensity of their opponent was not only a testament to how well her team played to pick up bronze, but also how good the Lakers will be in the future.

Stirling is an incredible team and they are very young. They are hosting (next year) and I put my money on them winning a few provincial championships,” she said.

“We’re lucky to get this win here against these guys. They’re a strong team and our guys continued to work the whole game.”

The CACHS Knights senior girls lost their final game of the weekend 58-40 to Bassano.

The Camrose Trojans senior boys picked up a silver medal ASAA 3A Basketball Provincials. They lost a close 104-93 game in the championship final to Edmonton Christian to earn the silver.

The Wetaskiwin Sabres senior girls finished fourth in Cochrane at the ASAA 3A Provincials. They lost the bronze medal game 72-48 to Monsignor McCoy High School.

H.J. Cody finished ninth with a 55-46 win over Sturgeon Composite.

On the 3A boys side, Wetaskiwin finished fifth with a 87-76 win over St. Joseph Catholic High School of Grande Prairie.

The Lindsay Thurber Raiders senior boys won their final game of the weekend at the ASAA 4A Provincials. They topped Lethbridge Composite 87-81 Saturday morning.

The Raiders senior girls also won their final game 80-32 over Charles Spencer High School.



Email sports tips to Byron Hackett

Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter

11061007_web1_180817-RDA-CACHS-Knights-Bronze


Byron Hackett

About the Author: Byron Hackett

Byron has been the sports reporter at the advocate since December of 2016. He likes to spend his time in cold hockey arenas accompanied by luke warm, watered down coffee.
Read more