The Catasauqua boys basketball team was placed in one of the toughest pools in the SportsFest A-town Throwdown Basketball Tournament.

Placed in a pool with the likes of Delaware Valley Charter, Central Catholic, and Lake-Lehman, the Rough Riders knew they'd have an uphill battle.

Of the three other teams in their pool, Central Catholic advanced to the semifinals of the Round of 16 and Delaware Valley Charter was one of the final eight teams remaining.

Still, the Rough Riders didn't let down one bit over the weekend, despite suiting up just five guys in their opener against Delaware Valley Charter, and eight in each of their other two contests.

"It was a really good weekend," said head coach Eric Snyder. "We won that game that we thought we could win. That was Lake-Lehman."

With an empty bench against Delaware Valley Charter, the Konkrete Kids kept to within striking distance into the second half. The score was tied with 10 minutes left before Delaware Valley separated themselves with a 58-36 win.

"That was like one of the hottest and most humid days of the summer," said Snyder. "And those five kids played tremendous and played their hearts out. It was a tie game with 10 minutes to go.

"They just ran out of gas. We had every opportunity that we could've beaten them. Maybe if we had just one more guy with a little bit of rest. They were just physically exhausted."

The Rough Riders, however, responded against Lake-Lehman and remained in control for much of the game before securing the 53-41 win. Brandon Purrone had 11 points in the win.

Derrick Bond returned from vacation for the last two games, and it was a pleasant showing in the eyes of Snyder.

"He's another rebounder to help us out," said Snyder. "He's got some size and he jumps real well. He shoots the three-pointer very well, [and] he penetrates to the basket."

While the score remained close against Central Catholic, the Vikings separated themselves and proved why they are considered one of the top teams in the Lehigh Valley. The Vikings defeated the Rough Riders, 73-50.

All eight players had a key part in helping the Rough Riders throughout their tourney run. With a full squad, the results might have been a bit different.