Olds High School's senior boys basketball team took a small ñ but crucial ñ step on the weekend.
The Spartans captured the consolation title at the two-day Sundre Senior Boys tournament, building some momentum as the team heads down the stretch towards the South Central Zone 3A tournament they host in mid-March.
For head coach Tom Christensen it's a noticeable improvement in individual and team play since the squad went winless at their own Spartan Classic tournament recently.
ìI was really pleased at how they have worked at their game in the last two weeks,î he explained.
OHS secured the hardware with a 65-64 win over Oyen in the consolation final thanks to 19 points from Mark McAllister. The locals ran out to a 16-point lead but the opposition clawed their way back only to ultimately see the Spartans hang on for the one-point win.
A spot in the consolation final was secured earlier in the day with a 69-50 win over Bearspaw Christian. Once again, McAllister led the scoring parade with 20 points in the win.
The Spartans were almost able to advance in the championship side of the draw but lost a heartbreaker to the host Sundre Scorpions 51-50 in the tournament opener. OHS had two opportunities to win the game in the final 10 seconds but were unable to find the decisive bucket.
McAllister again had another strong game with 17 points in the loss.
It was a clear turnaround for the Spartans, who lost by more than 20 points the last time the two teams met at the Spartan Classic.
Riley Challack also had a strong weekend for the Spartans averaging 15 points per game over the three-game weekend.
OHS played host to the Olds Koinonia Royals on Monday night (after press deadline) and wrap up their regular season on Feb. 23 when they visit the Scorpions in Sundre along with the OHS girls team.
