A sense of nostalgia was felt in the HCI gym on Dec. 18.
Players from a number of eras congregated in the gym for the 2016 HCI Alumni basketball games as a team of girls players from various teams joined together to take on the senior girls team, while the senior boys took on former senior boys Mohawks.
Senior Girls Head Coach Paul Raycroft says hosting the alumni games is important because it gives the former players an opportunity to come back and play with former teammates who they may not have seen in a while, while also providing the current group of players with role models so they can see what the past graduates have moved on to do.
“It’s a fun thing. I think definitely it builds character, builds skills and it’s nice for everyone on all fronts.”
In total ten girls who played for the Mohawks between the mid 2000s and last year joined together to pose a formidable threat to the current senior girls Mohawks.
The current Mohawks jumped out to a 6-5 lead after the first quarter but saw their lead quickly evaporate as the alumni came back with an early 10-0 run and carried that into halftime as they lead 17-12.
The current Mohawks were not fazed by the strong alumni run and pushed back with a great effort in the third quarter allowing just five alumni points to streak ahead 28-22.
The current Mohawks pushed their lead to ten in the fourth quarter but the alumni refused to quit cutting into their lead as the clock ticked down.
The final few seconds of the game were frantic after a late alumni three cut their deficit to two but they could not get the ball back as the current Mohawks escaped with a 36-34 win.
The boys meanwhile saw 12 players return from various teams throughout the years ranging from the early 90s to last year.
The Alumni quickly grabbed a lead in the first quarter and never relinquished it as they used a hot three point shot to take leads of 20-17 after the first quarter, 38-21 at halftime and 51-34 after three quarters before running away with a 68-48 win.
Raycroft says the 22 players who returned to play in the two games is down a little from previous years but notes that he still appreciates seeing the players who did come back.
The alumni games were a fundraiser for the two programs as they need some extra funds to help cover costs that are associated with playing throughout the season.
“Being a 4A team, for us to get competition to get ready for playoffs we need to travel pretty much every weekend,” says Raycroft who notes that have trips planned to Moose Jaw, Prince Albert and Melfort.
Overall Raycroft was really pleased with how the event went noting he got great compliments about the girl’s game as well as the skill displayed by the alumni during the boy’s game.
“It was a good time all around.”
