The Cochrane Cobras and Chestermere Lakers had already faced each other four times this season ñ with each team winning twice.
The fifth matchup was for the Rocky View Sports Associationís (RVSA) divisional title and the No. 1 seed heading into Zones ñ with the Cobras defeating the Lakers 83-77 at George McDougall High School in Airdrie on March 3.
It is Cochraneís second consecutive RVSA boysí varsity basketball title. The Cobras moved on to South Central 3A Zones in Olds March 8 to 10 (after the Rocky View Weekly went to press), along with the Lakers, whom they could face up to twice more.
ìAt the start of the season, we looked at the schedule and said this could be a best-of-seven ñ and it very well could be,î said Cobrasí head coach Jim Forrest.
ìI expect to meet these guys in the Zones final and I wouldnít be surprised to see them in the Provincial final.î
The Chestermere coaching staff was unavailable for comment following the RVSA final and had not returned a phone call as of press time.
Kellen Forrest led Cochrane with 25 points in its win over the Lakers, with Cooper Hamaliuk adding 18 and Garret Godfrey contributing 17. Keith Davis led Chestermere with 20 points, while Jasdeep Gill had 15 and Yuvraj Hendal and Jherald Gonzales each had 10.
ìJasdeep is a really hard match, but we did a good job of shutting him down,î Forrest said.
ìWe played really well at times. We werenít as efficient on offence tonight as we usually are, but we gutted it out. Against that team, thatís going to happen.î
Cochrane opened a 23-19 lead after the first quarter and extended it to 44-35 by half. Chestermere started to close the gap slightly in the third, but Godfreyís 11-point third-quarter helped maintain the Cobrasí lead.
But Forrest knew the Lakers would come out strong in the fourth quarter.
ìWe know itís going to be a nail-biter, right down to the wire,î he said. ìI told the guys we have to play for 40 minutes; thereís going to be runs by us and runs by them. Thatís the way itís always been.î
Cochrane extended its lead to 10 with five minutes left, but Chestermere soon rallied and cut the lead to 78-73 with 2:53 remaining. Davis had two free throws with 43 seconds remaining on the clock, and the Lakers down by four, but missed them both.
Chase Nielsen then closed the game for Cochrane by making two free throws with eight seconds remaining.
ìWe had a chance to put it away with about five minutes left to go,î Forrest said. ìBut I knew they wouldnít quit and would put a lot of pressure on us.
ìWe were able to defend and stop them. I play some of my kids a lot of minutes and fatigue starts to factor in, but knew weíd have to play until the end.î
