The Lakes has got what it takes.
The Three Lakes Avengers boys captured the junior boys' district basketball pennant in Humboldt on Saturday, holding off the charging St. Brieux Crusaders by a 45-42 count.
Caleb Hoffman's leaping three-point attempt with just seconds on the clock bounced off the rim and preserved the Three Lakes victory. Hoffman and teammate Asher Verloop both hit three-pointers in the final minute to pull St. Brieux to within two, making for a heart-stopping finish.
"All our games against St. Brieux have been tight," noted a jubilant Avengers head coach Justin Sauer. "They're fast, and they've got a couple of players that if you give them an open look, they never miss."
The Crusaders took an early 12-8 first quarter lead in the final, and it looked like they might threaten to run away with it as they initially out-hustled the Avengers and did a great job penetrating the Three Lakes key. Three Lakes responded thanks to some great quarterbacking by guard Tanner Brockman and sure shooting by lanky forward Nathan Hauser. St. Brieux led 22-20 at the half.
The Avengers seemed to regain their legs in the second half, and it was they who began to win those one-on-one battles. Logan Burkart drained a nice jumper to put the Avengers up 36-30 after three quarters, and they led by eight with under two minutes to play.
But it was nail biting time after three-pointers by Hoffman and Verloop suddenly made it 44-42. Nathan Hauser sank a crucial free throw with six seconds remaining, and that forced St. Brieux to have to try to tie it from the perimeter. When Hoffman's long ball missed, an entire community breathed a collective sigh of relief.
Sauer noted that after a bit of a slow start to the final, his team played much stronger in the second half. That was especially the case in terms of team defence.
"We tried to box them out (of the key) as much as possible," he said. "And we have the height on them, so that defnitely helped in terms of getting rebounds.
"The first two games today, we played fantastic," he added. "We moved the ball around really well, and everybody did their part. Once we got back to that in this game, using everybody, and guys coming in off the bench to do their part, we were able to get it turned around. I'm very proud of the boys. Very proud."
The Crusaders made their trip to the finals courtesy of a 54-44 victory over St. Augustine School in the late semi-final. Earlier in the afternoon, Three Lakes advanced with a 44-38 win over the Humboldt Collegiate Institute (HCI) Mohawks, getting a measure of revenge after losing in the league final earlier in the week.
Mohawks head coach Kevin Plemel was disappointed with the loss, but he said the Avengers have always proven to be a worthy adversary.
"We beat them twice this year, and they beat us twice. So I knew it was going to be one of our toughest games," he said.
"Our guys just didn't have their top game today, and that's how it goes. Sometimes you can't put all the pieces together. But it was still a good effort. Both teams who made it to the final deserve to be (there)."
