The John Paul II Crusaders weren’t expecting to be playing on their home court this weekend.
However, due to the Weyburn Eagles senior girls’ team hosting the 5A regional event, the Eagles senior boys’ were in need of a gym to host the 4A regional tournament and the Crusaders stepped up to the plate.
“It all came together over the weekend after Weyburn got in contact with us and the bracket was set,” Crusaders head coach Shalen Fox said. “We weren’t going to leave them in a lurch.”
The Crusaders will enter the 4A tournament as the seventh seed and go up against the 10th ranked Lumsden Devils at 6 p.m. Friday night.
“Lumsden is a team that we haven’t faced this year,” Fox said. “They were in 3A last year but they had higher enrolment numbers than expected and ended up moving up a category.
“Meadow Lake played them at a tournament in December so we got some information from them on what to expect. However, our main focus is with our own game. If we can do the little things right, good things will happen.”
The winner of that game will then move on to the regional final game at 12 p.m. and face either the second ranked Eagles or the 15th seeded Martensville Royals for a spot at the Hoopla tournament in Prince Albert next weekend.
The Eagles will be entering the regional round as favourites as they won the 4A provincial title last year and finished second to the Melfort Comets in 2016.
“We played Weyburn four times this season,” Fox said. “We got crushed by them in our first meeting but our last three games we were within single digits of them at the end of the game.
“They aren’t quite as deep as they were last season, but when they have their starting five out on the court, they are tough to beat.”
Meanwhile, the Crusaders senior girls earned the fifth seed for the 4A senior girls regional tournament and will travel to Moose Jaw to face the 12th ranked Martin Monarchs of Regina Friday night.
The winner of that game will then face either the fourth ranked Central Cyclones of Moose Jaw or the 13th seeded Martensville Royals.
The North Battleford Comprehensive High School Vikings boys’ and girls’ teams will be on the road this weekend to try and nab one of two spots in the 5A Hoopla bracket at rural regional tournaments.
After finishing third at last year’s provincial in the 4A category, the Vikings have made the jump to 5A this season and earned the third overall seed.
They will find themselves facing the host Weyburn Eagles Friday in the quarter-final, in a rematch of last year’s 4A provincial bronze medal game.
The winner of that contest will then face either the second ranked St. Mary’s Mauraders of Prince Albert or the seventh seeded Yorkton Raiders Saturday for a spot in Hoopla.
Having reached the provincial quarter-finals last year, the Vikings’ senior boys squad enter this weekend’s regional round in Warman as the second seed and will play the seventh seeded Mauraders Friday.
If they win that game, they will face either the third ranked Carlton Crusaders of Prince Albert or the sixth seeded Estevan Elecs for a Hoopla berth Saturday.
Meanwhile, a bevy of schools from around the region will be battling it out for provincial spots this weekend at regional tournaments.
In the 3A girls’ division, the Maidstone Huskies have earned the 11th seed and will travel to Caronport to face the sixth ranked Indian Head Broncs, who finished fourth at last year’s provincial.
The winner of that game will then go up against either the third ranked Caronport Cougars, who won the 3A crown in 2014 and 2015, or the 14th seeded Se Se Wa Hum.
Over in the 3A boys’ tournament, the seventh ranked Unity Warriors will travel to Regina to take on the 10th seeded Delisle Rebels.
Awaiting the victor of that game will be the second seeded Regina Christian Grizzlies, who won last year’s 3A provincial crown and have won the tournament three out of the last five years, or the 15th ranked Oxbow Black Knights.
In the 2A boys’ event, the Maidstone Huskies are back in the tournament after making it to the final last year and picking up a silver medal following an exciting 79-69 affair against the Saskatoon Ecole Canadienne Patriotes.
This season, the Huskies are the 10th ranked squad in the province and will head to Saskatoon to face the seventh seeded Southey Screaming Eagles.
If the Huskies win that game, they will face either the second seeded Saskatoon Christian Cougars or the 15th ranked Wynyard Bears for a chance to make a second straight trip to Hoopla.
Meanwhile, the 2A girls’ tournament will see three teams from the area batting it out for a spot at the provincial final.
The highest ranked school is the ninth ranked Lashburn Lobos, who will be traveling to Wynyard to face the eight seeded Saskatoon Christian Cougars.
The winner of that contest will face either the top ranked Wynyard Bears, who have captured the last three straight 2A titles, or the 16th seeded Kinistino Blues, who lost to the Bears in last year’s final.
Meanwhile, the Unity Warriors have earned the 12th overall seed and will go to Canora to play the fifth ranked Foam Lake Panthers, who won a bronze medal 12 months ago at Hoopla.
Awaiting the victor of that contest will play either the fourth ranked Canora Cougars or the 13th seeded Rocanville Rara Avis.
Rounding the trio of area schools are the 10th ranked St. Walburg Saints, who will be travelling to Regina to face the seventh seeded Shaunavon Silhouettes, who finished in fourth place last year.
The winner of that game will then face either the second ranked Harvest City Christian Academy Reapers of Regina or the 15th seeded Norquay Nikes.
The Hafford Viqueens will be competing in the 1A girls’ tournament as the 14th ranked team and will face the third ranked and regional host Birch Hills Mauraders.
If the Viqueens can pull off the upset, they would then go up against either the sixth seeded Lake Lenore Lancers, who finished fourth at Hoopla last year, or the 11th ranked Gladmar Falcons.
Over in the 1A boys category, the Paradise Hill Panthers and the Glaslyn Jets will head to Buffalo Narrows as the 12th and 13th ranked teams respectively.
The Jets will be taking on the fourth seeded and tournament host Twin Lakes Eagles, who finished fourth at last year’s Hoopla, while the Panthers will be matched up against the fifth ranked Davidson Raiders, who won the 2016 provincial tournament.
