The Terry Fox Ravens can grind it out or open it up.

They needed more of the former than the latter Saturday in the Fox Legal Beagle Invitational game for third place against the W.J. Mouat Hawks.

Tangled in a close contest with their Fraser Valley rivals, the No. 9-ranked Ravens found just enough wedge room in the fourth quarter to eke out a 55-53 win.

Ryan Sclater's bucket with just over a minute to play broke a 52-52 tie and was followed by some sticky defensive matchups.

In a game where slick offence took a back seat to tight defence, Fox pushed ahead by as much as five points in the third quarter, only to witness Mouat push back. It was tied 36-36 at the half.

Leading Fox shooters was Daniel Collins with 11 points, while Sclater finished with nine. Jesse Crookes and Alex Nesterenko chipped in eight apiece.

It provided the Ravens with another layer of experience heading into Fraser Valley North league action, which began yesterday (past The NOW's deadline).

"It was an awesome tournament in that respect," co-coach Brad Petersen said. "We played really hard and while there were a few things we'd like to take back, we're happy with how the boys played."

In Friday's semifinal, Terry Fox cashed in the final five points of regulation to force extra time but Walnut Grove scored the last five points of the game for a 60-58 overtime win.

The sixth-ranked Langley school, which was bumped 65-55 by No. 1-seed Kelowna in the Beagle final, shook off Fox's fast start in the extra session to advance to the final.

Grade 11 forward Trevor Casey netted 18 points for Fox, while Sclater contributed 12.

Rallying to force extra time was a good sign, noted Petersen, although the club had an opportunity to complete the comeback in regulation but didn't get a good shot off. In overtime they had an early jump but faded down the stretch.

"We had a couple of key turnovers and (Walnut Grove) hit a big three pointer that kind of stole the momentum away."

Earlier in the tournament, the Ravens kicked things off with a polished 78-39 victory over AA Windsor.

Casey, who would be named to the tourney's second all-star squad, set the tone with 19 points, while Sclater added 13.

"[Casey] was one of our best players... He's a big, strong physical kind of player who can play in the paint or shoot from outside. He's really hard for other teams to match up against."

Also turning in polished performances during the three-day event were Kaleb Gebrewold and Tyrel Ratich, who the coach praised for their defensive work.

"They really played well and did a good job against a couple of big posts," noted Petersen.

The Ravens follow with Friday's 7: 30 p.m. tilt at Dr. Charles Best Secondary, and host Maple Ridge 6 p.m. on Saturday.

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