PREECEVILLE - The first annual East Central Clash senior boys basketball tournament brought out the best of athletes from across the region. The tournament was held January 5 and 6 with 12 teams all vying for top spot. It was hosted by the Norquay and Preeceville School but had to be held at four different school gymnasiums due to the large number of teams and could not be accommodated by only one school.
The idea for a large-calibre tournament came from Heath Morin, coach for the Norquay senior boys basketball team. “It was to give players an opportunity to play more teams in a rural setting which only usually happens in the city,” said Heath Morin. “Rural students often do not get to experience the opportunity of a bigger tournament. It was actually a dream of mine to host a tournament of this nature and right now we have some of the best basketball players in and around the division. The tournament went over very well with many positive comments from the teams entered. It is a hope of mine to continue this tournament and in the future make it into one of the best largest ones that teams want to attend. It could not have happened without the staff, students, and community volunteers who helped to make this tournament such a success,” concluded Morin.
The top five teams in the tournament were all from the Good Spirit School Division.
Teams who were divided into four pools and played at four different school gymnasiums were: Norquay, Rocanville and Esterhazy in Pool A at Norquay School; Preeceville, Hudson Bay and Watrous played in Pool B at the Preeceville School; Kamsack, Wynard and Indian Head played in Pool C at Kamsack Composite School, and Canora, Stoughton and LCA out of Saskatoon played at the Sturgis Composite School.
The tournament winners were determined by a round robin play and came down to the finest athletes from Preeceville and Canora battling for the A-side and the championship trophy, which was made from Gatorade bottles. The battle was tense and scoring was back and forth but in the end it would be Canora who gained the lead and Preeceville could not seem to get a break, with the game ending in a 54-37 win for Canora over Preeceville. In the B-side final it was Norquay over Watrous with a 56-52 win.
“The East Central Clash was a 12-team tournament that was made to show the success and talent of the East Central area, as well as unite some of the best programs in the province’s 1A to 3A classifications,” stated Jay Steppan, coach for Preeceville School Panthers senior boys basketball team.
In order to make the tournament possible, there were 4 pools each with 3 teams in them. And so, on Friday night, Norquay, Preeceville, Sturgis and Kamsack all hosted 3 teams, in which the teams all played two games to place them where they would play on Saturday.
Preeceville played Hudson Bay and Watrous at 2:30 and 8 p.m. on Friday. In their first game, Preeceville got out to a 33-21 lead at halftime. However, the boys struggled with their shots late and also had a few turnovers which lead to quick Hudson Bay baskets. Hudson Bay eventually crawled their way back into the game and got to within one in the last minute, with the game score at 53-52. With under 10 seconds left, Noah Carroll made a clutch three-pointer, to give the Panthers a 56-52 win over Hudson Bay.
In their late game against Watrous, the Panthers played incredible defense in the first half creating lots of turnovers, but couldn’t capitalize off of them on the offensive side. It was a very physical game, with both teams playing hard. But the Panthers were able to continue creating those turnovers in the second half, which turned into lots of fast break points lead by Tristan Acosta and Brody Descalchuk. The Panthers ended up winning against Watrous with a score of 59-43.
Because of these two wins on Friday, Preeceville won their pool, which meant the Panthers played Kamsack on Saturday for a chance to play in the A Final.
The game against Kamsack was neck-and-neck right up until the last minute. The game was very intense with both teams ending up in foul trouble. The Panthers had one starter fouled out in the third quarter and two others with four fouls going into the fourth. However, the boys played hard and played well as a team, using their teammates to make crucial baskets in the last minutes of the game. Porter George and Tristan Acosta shot well from the free throw line in the last two minutes to keep their six-point lead until the end, winning 65-59.
With the Panthers punching their ticket to the A final, they were up against Canora.
The Panthers stayed neck and neck with the Cougars until halftime, however, they ran into foul trouble and ran out of gas to make any comeback. The Panthers ended up losing in the final, 54-37, congrats to the Cougars, but “we are so proud of the boys for a 3-1 record in the first annual East Central Clash.” said Steppan.
“We look forward to next year. And a huge thank you to Heath Morin for heading up the tournament, alongside us in Preeceville, and for all of his work in planning and organizing.
And also thank you for all of those that helped and supported us throughout the weekend. We appreciate the great community support.”
The Panthers were back in action on Jan. 9 in Kamsack, and then travelled to Saskatoon for a Jan. 12-13 tournament involving many of the best 1A and 2A teams in the province.
“We are very proud of what the boys have accomplished already this season and can’t wait to see their continued improvement as the season goes on. Go Panthers!” concluded coach Steppan.
