The first ever trip to the provincial high school basketball championships was a memorable one for the Maidstone Huskies senior boys’ team.
The Huskies came away from Regina with a silver medal Saturday afternoon, as the Saskatoon Ecole Canadienne Patriotes won their second straight 2A boys’ title by a score of 79-69 at the University of Regina.
“This really shows what passion for the game and hard work can get you,” Huskies coach Ray Bodnarek said. “When our graduating players were in Grade 10, their goal was to make it to Hoopla and they achieved it.
“Once they got here, they wanted to make the final and have a chance to come home with a medal. With what they did this weekend, I think this is something our returning players can build upon in the years to come.”
The town of 1,185 people was all in on the Huskies run to the provincials, as a chartered bus brought fans down to Regina for Hoopla.
“The entire community came together,” Huskies coach Dale Kurylyk said. “We had a webcast of our semifinal game back at the school and the bulk of the student body stuck around to watch it in our gym.
“The atmosphere here for everyone was incredible. We got to play two games here at the university, and that’s something we won’t forget.”
The Huskies clinched a spot in the final with a 73-57 win over the Osler Valley Christian Academy Lions Friday night, thanks to a 19-point performance from Christian Turnbull.
“We shot the lights out early on and had a 20-4 lead,” Bodnarek said.
“Osler came back and got within one point, but our guys refused to lose and had a great finish to get into the final.”
The final was a back-and-forth affair in the first half, but the Patriotes were able to pull away in the second half thanks to a number of three-point shots.
“They are a very physical team and that’s something we noticed throughout the weekend,” Kurylyk said.
“The schools from the bigger cities are much more physical compared to what we are used to. With that said, I thought we did a great job of adapting to that.”
Ryden Ross was the leading scorer for the Huskies with 22 points, while Regis Bikulo had 24 points for the Patriotes.
