Both the YRHS Raiders and SHHS Saints senior boys鈥� basketball teams welcomed 10 other Saskatchewan high school basketball teams to Yorkton this past weekend for the fifth annual York City Classic basketball tournament.
Joining the two Yorkton schools were P.A. Carlton, Lumsden, Weyburn, Moose Jaw Vanier, Melfort, North Battleford, Melville, Swift Current, Estevan and eventual 2015 champion P.A. St. Mary.
The Raiders went 3-1 throughout the tournament and finished in fifth place overall, while the rebuilding Saints went 1-3 over the weekend despite playing some strong basketball.
Raiders
The Raiders鈥� first game of the tournament pitted them against the undermanned Lumsden Devils, who brought just six players to the tournament.
A quick start saw the Raiders jump out to an impressive 26-5 lead only to have a plucky Lumsden squad chip away and bring the game to within two at half time.
Lumsden continued to battle hard in the third quarter, tying the game late in the frame to send it into the fourth quarter deadlocked at 50.
However that was where the Devils鈥� luck would run out as the Raiders poured on the offence, going on a 27-6 run in the final quarter to eventually win their first game of the tournament 77-62 over Lumsden.
But while an opening victory is always a good thing, according to Raider head coach Jason Payne a full effort is even better and that鈥檚 something that the Raiders simply did not put forth in Game One. 鈥淚n Game One against Lumsden we put together 15 really good minutes and 25 so-so minutes,鈥� offered Payne. 鈥淲hen we were really intense and playing hard it looked really good. We had a 26-5 run to start and a 27-6 run to end the game, so that鈥檚 good.
鈥淚t鈥檚 just maintaining that level of intensity throughout the game. That鈥檚 what we鈥檝e got to work on at the moment.鈥�
One player that didn鈥檛 have any problem with his intensity was grade 11 forward Caleb Bymak, who played strong all game long but really dominated Lumsden late in the game. 鈥淐aleb is a physical freak and when he sets his mind to dominating, he can,鈥� offered Payne on one of his several multi-sport athletes. 鈥淭hat fourth quarter he came out and really led us in that quarter.鈥�
Unfortunately the intensity that Bymak demonstrated in Game One was not contagious and did not carry over to Game Two as the Raiders, fresh off of their 77-62 win over Lumsden, came out flat against the P.A. Carlton Crusaders, falling 64-43 to finish the round-robin at 1-1; a record that put them dropped them to the 鈥楤鈥� side with Carlton moving to the 鈥楢鈥� side and Lumsden dropping down to the 鈥楥鈥� side.
The loss to the Crusaders proved to be the only blemish on the Raiders鈥� record throughout the weekend as they dismantled the North Battleford Vikings 66-53 in the 鈥楤鈥� side semi-finals to move to the 鈥楤鈥� side final against the Weyburn Eagles; a team that, in recent years, the Raiders have struggled against.
However those struggles appeared to be a thing of the past as the Raiders scored a season best 55 points in the first half to take a 55-29 stranglehold on the game at the midway point and while Weyburn won the second half 28-22 the damage was done as the YRHS Raiders finished off their York City Classic campaign with an impressive 3-1 record and a 鈥楤鈥� side title.
Saints
The Sacred Heart Saints knew they would be in tough against their Group 鈥楧鈥� competition at the fifth annual York City Classic, however that didn鈥檛 stop them from taking to the court this past weekend.
Game One saw the Saints fall to the Estevan Elecs 79-63 despite a strong performance by grade 12 captain Tannum Wyonzek, who tied a career high with 21 points while hauling down five rebounds.
Grade 11 forward Brody Kormos also had a strong game, scoring eight points while corralling a team high 11 rebounds.
Sacred Heart鈥檚 second game of the tournament had the host Saints taking on the Swift Current Colts and try as they might, the Saints simply could not gain much traction offensively and although they did go on an 18-0 run to cut a 30 point deficit to just 12, they still lost by over 30 points, 77-46 to a Colts team that at that point had lost just one game all season long.
Wyonzek once again led the Saints in scoring, this time netting 14 points before fouling out of the game in the second half. 鈥淭annum, he鈥檚 our workhorse,鈥� mentioned Saints head coach Garrett Karcha. 鈥淎 lot of the other coaches were actually pretty impressed with him. I鈥檝e got to remind people that he was my starting point guard to start the year but now I moved him down to a forward and he鈥檚 around the post a little bit crashing boards and he got some fouls.
鈥淗e plays aggressively and puts his heart on his sleeve and works hard. He fouled out in the third quarter but I left him in there to grind because he鈥檚 a vocal guy and he wants to lead by example.鈥�
The loss to Swift Current dropped the Saints to the 鈥楥鈥� side bracket and set them up with a 鈥楥鈥� side semi-final game against the Vanier Vikings.
A lacklustre first quarter in which the Moose Jaw side outscored the Saints 25-11 proved to be disastrous for Sacred Heart as the Saints won the final three quarters with a total of 44-43 but still fell 68-55.
Filipino import Jake Javier scorched the Vikings for a team high 18 points and five steals while Wyonzek was once again his impressive self, scoring 16 points while hauling down 12 rebounds for his first double double of the tournament before once again fouling out.
Zach Goulden-Maddin also made an impact in the game. The talented grade 10 athlete hit three of four shots from beyond the arc for nine points in limited playing time off of the bench.
The loss, Sacred Heart鈥檚 third of the tournament, meant that the Saints moved to the 鈥楥鈥� side consolation game where they met their Highway 10 rivals, the Melville Cobras.
The final game of the tournament could very well be titled the 鈥楯avier and Buzinski show鈥� as both grade 11 guards caused serious damage to the Cobras. Javier once again led the Saints in scoring with a game high 22 points while Buzinski wasn鈥檛 far behind with 17 of his own.
Both Buzinski and Javier caused all sorts of problems for Melville鈥檚 guards as well, teaming up for a total of nine steals (four by Javier, five by Buzinski) including three in a span of six game time seconds that, combined with the baskets, took the wind completely out of the Melville sails in what resulted in an impressive 63-45 Saints win.
Other results
The P.A. St. Mary Marauders walked away with the tournament title. The Marauders won their third York City Classic in five years, crushing the Melfort Comets 95-73 in the final.
St. Mary had previously defeated the Vanier Vikings 100-45 and Weyburn Eagles 104-58 before dropping the Swift Current Colts 94-73 in the 鈥楢鈥� side semi-finals.
In total, the two schools combined to raise over $800.00, all over which will be donated to the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation.
The next action for the Sacred Heart Saints senior boys鈥� basketball team will be this weekend when they travel to Lumsden for a tournament. The YRHS Raiders, meanwhile, travel to Prince Albert for the St. Mary Marauders home tournament.
(All photos by Randy Brenzen)
