The Comp Eagle senior boys' basketball team ended their season this weekend at the Small Cities 5A Championship in Prince Albert, missing their shot at advancing to HOOPLA Provincials.

Weyburn "played their best of the year" against their first-round opponent, Prince Albert Carlton, on Friday night, said coach Jody Kerr.

Sadly, despite a tremendous effort by the Eagles, they lost to Carlton 64-53. Kris Frisk led the team with 21 points.

A victory was needed for Weyburn to advance further in Small Cities.

"Our guys came within inches of winning that game," said Kerr. "It was so amazing. They played so well."

The Eagles actually had a small lead in the first quarter, but Prince Albert surged ahead in the second, outscoring Weyburn by 12 points.

That left the Eagles feeling down, said Kerr, and the situation got worse in the third when Prince Albert managed a 20-point lead.

"A couple of guys were feeling it and just almost ready to pack it in," said Kerr. "We took some time and talked as a group and got things going.

"Then they got just absolutely fired up," he said.

The Eagles managed to trim the gap to six points going into the final two minutes. However, Prince Albert was able to stay ahead by scoring on their foul shots.

Still, it was a good result considering that Weyburn was ranked No. 7 going into Small Cities and Carlton was ranked No. 2. The Eagles had a very good chance of advancing, said Kerr.

"Going in, we knew that the middle six teams, that No. 2 through No. 7 spot, would be a dogfight, and anybody out of those six could get through," he said.

Carlton went on to face Moose Jaw in the final match, but lost 76-60.

Weyburn played another consolation match against Prince Albert St. Mary on Saturday afternoon. Because winning the game wouldn't secure the Eagles a spot anywhere, Weyburn started with their Grade 10-11 players and just tried to have fun. The end score was 86-59.

Truth be told, most of his players didn't expect to do great things this season, said Kerr. Too many players had graduated or decided not to come back, and there were too few veterans on the team this year.

The team knew they had a lot of talent, but the experience wasn't there.

That said, the guys still had a blast and made some great memories, said Kerr, who joined the team as coach at the start of the 2004-2005 season.