Zeniths take bronze in Edmonton

Posted on December 13, 2013 by Westwind Weekly

The Magrath Zeniths fared pretty well in Edmonton last weekend, picking up the bronze medal at a tournament hosted by Ross Shepard.

The Zeniths started hot, routing Saskatoon’s Aden Bowman 82-53 in the event opener. Austin Bennett had 15 points, followed by Carter Hansen’s 14, a dozen from Derek Strate and 10 from Scott Gieske.

Helping those scorers along was Tim McMahon with nine assists and another six helpers from Jared Sabey.

Magrath advanced to the semifinal game of the eight-team tourney but lost a heartbreaker to the host T-Birds in the dying seconds. After leading the entire game, Ross Shepard took a one-point advantage with 14 seconds left and Magrath was unable to score in the remaining time and fell 68-67.

McMahon led the way for the Zeniths with 24 points, with Strate adding another dozen.

Not about to go home completely empty handed, Magrath laid a whooping on the Paul Kane Blues in the third-place game, building a 40-20 lead at half and cruising to a 77-59 win.

Nine players scored for Magrath in the final game, led by Bennett and McMahon, who each had 14 points and the trendy dozen from Strate.

Magrath will play in the annual Cougar Classic in Cardston this weekend, opening at 5:30 p.m. Friday.