It was a case of second time's the charm for the Cedars Christian Eagles senior boys basketball team last weekend in Tumbler Ridge.
The Eagles travelled north to challenge eight other teams for two North Central berths at the single-A provincial championship March 7 to 10 in Langley. Cedars entered the weekend as the top team in the region.
In Friday's opening game the Eagles easily beat Hudson Hope 75-24 setting up a face off with chief rival the Mountain Christian Rams. Cedars split games with the Dawson Creek school at various tournaments during the season.
The winner of the game would earn the first provincial berth and things looked good for the Eagles in the dying seconds as they led 52-50, but one of the Rams' sharp shooters hit a three-pointer for the win, sending Cedars into Saturday's second-chance round having to win three games to qualify.
The Eagles took care of Northside Christian of Vanderhoof 67-56 behind Colton Mueller's game-high 24 points and then triumphed over Fraser Lake 59-51, setting up a rematch with the Rams for seeding in Langley.
Cedars never trailed beating the Rams 70-59 as captain Jeff Pudlas had 22 points and seniors Spencer Price and Jonathan Pratt each had 12 and Mueller had 11. Pudlas and Prince were also selected as first-team all-stars.
In the 16-team provincial tournament the Eagles head into it as the 15th seed putting them on a challenging path to win.
