As the calendar turns to March, the intensity picks up for high school teams around the province as they look to make it to the provincial championships.
That was evident at the North Battleford Comprehensive High School gym over the weekend, as it played host to 12 senior boys’ basketball teams for the Viking Invitational Tournament.
The host Vikings ended up capturing the bronze medal Saturday, as they defeated the Prince Albert St. Mary’s Marauders, who had won the last two editions of the tournament.
“We had a heartbreaking loss in the semifinal to Peacock from Moose Jaw, as we almost clawed our way back from a 20-point deficit, so to see the guys bounce back like they did was very impressive,” Vikings head coach Jamie Sommerfield said.
“It’s always good to finish in third in a tournament with a lot of quality teams. The younger guys are starting to buy in to what we are doing here and that’s very important as we get ready for Hoopla.”
Meanwhile, the John Paul II Crusaders captured the tournament’s consolation title with a 19-point win over the Swift Current Colts.
“Everyone is playing as a team right now,” Crusaders head coach Shalen Fox said.
“The biggest key to our success is the depth that we have. When our starters needed to take a breather, the guys on the bench really stepped up their game, which was important for us as this was our first games back after the break.”
The Weyburn Eagles won the tournament over the Peacock Toilers of Moose Jaw.
Both the Crusaders and Vikings are now preparing for regional tournaments, which will take place on March 17 and 18.
The Crusaders will be taking part in a seven-team tournament at Prince Albert Carlton that will see the top two teams in the 5A rural region advance to Hoopla, where they will be joined by three schools each from Regina and Saskatoon.
“We haven’t lost yet to the teams that we will be playing at the rural regional, so hopefully we can keep that level of play up,” Sommerfield said.
“It’s all about that mental toughness at this time of year. I saw a lot of that from the guys during the tournament, and the intensity is only going to pick up from here.”
The Vikings will also be heading out of town for their 4A regional tournament, but they won’t know where they are travelling to until the rankings are announced Monday.
“I expect that we’ll be in the top half of the bracket,” Fox said.
“It’s been a pretty interesting year. Everyone’s beaten everyone this season so I think it should be a really exciting tournament.”
This year’s Hoopla provincial championships will be held in Regina from March 23-25.
