The Lake Tahoe School Bobcats finished off a fantastic 2017 basketball season with an impressive showing at the Tah-Neva championships on Saturday. Both teams from LTS, the 7th grade team at 9-5 and the 8thgrade team at 14-2, qualified for the tournament hosted at Incline High School.
The 8th grade team capped off a great year by advancing to the consolation championship game and defeated Alder Creek Middle School to earn the title of Consolation Champions. Jack Ludviksen proved unstoppable in the consolation championship game as he led his team with 15 points and 6 rebounds. Brody Thralls was equally impressive with 11 points and 11 rebounds.
Earlier in the day, the mighty 8th grade Bobcats lost to eventual championship runner-up South Tahoe Middle School before defeating North Tahoe Middle School in the consolation semi-final. The entire team contributed throughout the day; Nicholas Patrick, Kade Martinez, and Ben Rock were key contributors with great outside shooting, Trey Casini and Dean Cafferata-Jenkins provided much needed defense and rebounding, while Shane Green, Zachary Wallpe, Lukas Burton, and Jack Laurie made valuable contributions off the bench.
Assistant Coach Kris Nugent was delighted with the entire team. “We are extremely proud of the boys. They had the most successful season in our school’s history at 14-2, they won our division to qualify for the tournament, and went undefeated in league play – truly a season for the ages. I wish these boys all the best as they move on to high school next year.”
The 7th grade team exceeded all expectations with a great season and a spot at the championship tournament. Assistant Coach Jon Cooper noted, “We had a young and inexperienced team but they never stopped playing hard and deserve a great deal of praise for their effort. We started two 5thgrade boys all year, yet we still finished second in league play and fought gallantly at championships.”
The LTS 7th grade Bobcats had a tough assignment with their opening game against South Tahoe, with the final score of 54-36 displaying how hard the boys played. In the consolation semi-final, the boys held a slight lead entering the 4th quarter against a much bigger Carson Middle School team, but they were unable to hold on to the lead late and lost.
Harry Fung had an amazing season for the Lake Tahoe School Bobcats, averaging 17 points and 18 rebounds a game. Tommy Williams was an excellent point guard all year and led our team with wonderful passing. Lincoln Fung, Luc Casini, and Keenan Artle provided key scoring, while Sean Kirkland and Quinn Cafferata-Jenkins were tenacious in defense. The LTS bench contributed all year long and were invaluable, with Ridge Gerken, Gavin Weber, Turner Alston, Aiden Hanak, Noah and Jake Keil, Max Weiss, and Josh Ludviksen, all playing hard when entering each game.
Head Coach Tim Kelly was ecstatic with the performance and results from the tournament, “It was a great season for the Bobcats. The future is bright for basketball in Incline Village.”
