The Reno Memorial Day Tournament has become something of a tradition for the Olympus boys' basketball team.

For a long time now, it has been an annual trip for the team. After this year's tournament, though, the Titans will have to consider leaving a little extra room in their travel schedule in case they make the finals again.

After cruising through much of the tournament's highest division, the Titans were set for a rematch of last year's semifinals against Bishop Manogue of Nevada. However, a late start from the previous game and an early flight home disrupted what certainly could have been a good game.

"We knew we were in trouble when we got there and the other game still wasn't done," said coach Matt Barnes.

Despite knowing they wouldn't finish, the Titans still got a little game action in. The result wasn't pretty. At times, they were down 30 to Bishop Manogue. By the end, they might as well have left anyway.

But at least they showed up.

Barnes and the Titans don't put a lot of emphasis on spring ball, so making it to the finals was as much a victory in and of itself. With just the Spring Fling League and a few practices under their belts, the Titans should find a little comfort in knowing they were right with the best of the tournament despite the circumstances.

"I don't mean to make an excuse, but when we got there and knew we weren't going to finish, we kind of checked out early," said Barnes. "It takes the heart and enthusiasm out of the game a little bit."

"We had the wrong mindset going into it, for sure," said senior Will Watkins. "It leaves a bitter taste after going through so much to get to the final."

Since taking over the Olympus basketball team fourteen years ago, Barnes has emphasized the tournament in Reno as a special event. Parents are always invited and everyone has a good time. The outcome isn't as important as the experience -- but it can usually provide a pretty good idea of what Barnes has to work with in November when he's sorting out his roster.

The Titans are getting thirteen returning seniors from last year's squad, a remarkable number considering they made it 4A semifinals before losing to West, the eventual state champion. With so much talent available, Barnes went ahead and brought three different teams to compete in the Memorial Day Tournament, each performing at their fullest. On top of their Varsity-1000 Plus team making the finals, Oly's Varsity-1000 club took their bracket's championship, and the Titans' third team finished with a 3-1 record in their respective bracket.

It's setting up to be a big year for the Titans, as the divisions and regions get realigned. While Cottonwood, Murray, West, Cyprus, Granger, and Hunter all will move to Region 2 in 5A, the Titans will remain behind to welcome Bountiful, Tooele, newcomer Stansbury, and Woods Cross to Region 6 -- though probably not with open arms. Since Watkins and the twelve other seniors this year have been in high school, the Titans have won every Region 6 championship.

"We feel really good about next year," said Watkins, who has been on the varsity team since his freshman year. "A new region, new teams. We feel confident we can repeat region champ for fourth time in a row and hopefully get that first state championship."

Considering how they bullied their way through most of the Memorial Day Tournament, it's entirely possible they will find themselves in the position to win that championship.

That is, as long as they don't have a plane to catch.