The Yorkton Regional High School (YRHS) boys basketball team walked away from a massive provincial tournament with one win and two losses, bringing their solid season to a close.
The boys 5A team participated in HOOPLA 2018 in Prince Albert last week. The tournament, held from Mar. 22-24, attracted the best girls and boys basketball teams from across Saskatchewan.
The YRHS boys secured their position in HOOPLA when they won the 5A division of the Saskatchewan High Schools Athletic Association’s regional tournament two weeks ago.
The boys kicked off the tournament on Mar. 22 when they faced the Regina Winston Knoll team. Team coach Jason Payne said Yorkton controlled most of the play, landing a 20-point lead during the game.
“[We] played really well,” he said. “Managed to hold on.”
Yorkton defeated Winston Knoll 86-83. Payne said their victory had an extra significance since 5A boys teams outside of Regina or Saskatoon rarely win in HOOPLA.
“[It was a] pretty substantial victory,” he said.
YRHS ran into a wall on Mar. 23 when they squared off against the Saskatoon St. Joseph team, who eventually won the entire tournament. They outpaced Yorkton for most of the game.
“St. Joseph started hot,” Payne said. “They put us in a hole we couldn’t get out of.”
St. Joseph triumphed over Yorkton 89-69.
On Mar. 24, Yorkton battled the Saskatoon Holy Cross team in the final day of HOOPLA. Payne said Yorkton had a good start, but ultimately got tripped up with fouls. Holy Cross won 78-56.
Payne’s proud of his team’s work during HOOPLA and the regular season.
“I think we had a really good year,” he said. “We had a challenging schedule and it paid off.
“Nothing to hang our heads over.”
