St. Mary’s Bay Academy senior boys’ basketball team clinched seventh place Sunday at the Division 3 provincial championships held in Shelburne.
The shorthanded Stingrays, who were seeded fourth, secured the finish with an 80-75 overtime win against Carrefour.
SMBA fell 78-65 to fifth seed New Germany on Saturday morning. Shayne Clements led SMBA with 32 points, Mackenzie Ford had 12 and Layton Hill finished with 11.
Strait Area Education Recreation Center edged the Stingrays 86-84 in a battle for fifth spot in the Saturday afternoon match up.
Coach Brad Bright said the team fought hard in spite of playing three men short.
“Two of our seniors were not in the provincial tournament with us and Brandon Doucette, another starter, was injured in our first game so we were down to three starters,” said Bright. “I was pleased with the level of play we had from them and the grade 9 players that came off the bench to help keep the game close.”
Clements scored 26, Ford had 24, Hill netted 17 and grade 9 player Toby Stone added 16.
Ford stepped up with a 34-point performance in the Stingrays’ final game against Carrefour, including the tying basket with 13 seconds to play in regulation to force overtime.
Hill had 19, Clements scored 17 and Stone chipped in 10 for the win.
Halifax Grammar claimed the provincial title with a 73-58 victory over Shelburne Rebels.
