They were the closest four games that the Saints have played in any one York City Classic, however the results were not what Saints head coach Garrett Karcha was looking for.
鈥溾�漌e wanted to at least go 2-2 in the tournament,鈥� said Karcha after Sacred Heart鈥檚 third loss of the sixth annual York City Classic on Saturday, a 62-59 loss to Moose Jaw 鈥� Vanier. 鈥淲e knew where we would fit kind of slotted in to everything.
鈥淲e feel like we should have at least won another game, so that鈥檚 kind of disappointing for us.鈥�
Instead the three point loss 鈥� the second such loss of the tournament for the Saints 鈥� was their third defeat, giving Sacred Heart a 1-3 record for the third consecutive York City Classic, despite being outscored by just 13 points throughout the entire competition.
Friday
On Friday afternoon the Sacred Heart Saints began tournament play against Weyburn, with the hopes of pull off an upset over the favoured Eagles in front of a partisan Saints crowd.
The Saints came out strong to take a 14-12 lead after the first quarter, however the Eagles responded with a 21-point second quarter to take a 33-28 lead into halftime.
Sacred Heart managed to cut the Eagle lead to two at 48-46 by outscoring Weyburn 18-15 in the third quarter, but a lapse in concentration for the Saints over a four minute span in the fourth quarter allowed the Eagles to build on their two point advantage to win going away, 78-67. 鈥淎gainst Weyburn, a team that I felt going in might be a little bit out of our league, we gave them an excellent game and it was probably one of the better games that we鈥檝e played all year,鈥� said the Sr. Saints鈥� bench boss. 鈥淲e played well overall, we just had those few minutes where we lost concentration and it hurt us.鈥�
Jake Javier led all Saints with 19 points and six steals while Noah Clarke picked up his first double-double of the weekend and sixth of the season with an 18-point, 13-rebound performance.
Sacred Heart鈥檚 next game saw them take on the Prince Albert 鈥� Carlton Crusaders to see who would finish second in Group 鈥楥鈥� behind the undeafeted Weyburn Eagles, who beat Carlton 76-67 earlier in the tournament.
A slow start in the second game of the tournament put the Saints behind the eight-ball early on at the Halo Dome, trailing by five after the first quarter and 12 at the half, down 38-26 at the break.
The Saints managed to cut the deficit to single digits after three quarters, trailing 49-40 going in to the final quarter where they picked up the pace, eventually taking the lead late at 54-53 before surrendering it not long after.
A last-ditch effort by Brody Kormos to tie the game fell short at the buzzer giving the Saints their second loss of the tournament; a close 57-54 affair. 鈥淚 thought we deserved a little better than what happened,鈥� mentioned Karcha after the game. 鈥淚t was tight all the way through right to the bitter end.
鈥淥ur guys were tired and so we kind of just started to falter towards the end but that鈥檚 the way it was.鈥�
Clarke was the offensive leader for the Saints in the loss with 26 points and 15 rebounds for his second double-double of the tournament while Brody Kormos also had a strong game, scoring seven points and hauling down a team best 18 rebounds.
Saturday
With an 0-2 record the Saints dropped down to the 鈥楥鈥� side bracket where their first game pitted them against their Highway 10 rivals the Melville Comprehensive Cobras.
A very game Melville squad came out of the gates on fire, grabbing a seven point lead after the first quarter at 20-13 before increasing that lead to double digits, 36-25, at half.
A strong third quarter got Sacred Heart back in the game, trailing by just three after three quarters, and an impressive fourth quarter allowed the Saints to first take and then build on their lead to pick up their first and only win of the tournament, a 62-58 win over Melville. 鈥淲e really showed some grit when we came back, because Melville really tries to play their best games against us because of the rivalry,鈥� said Karcha, adding that the key to the win was to continue to pressure the undermanned Melville team. 鈥淪am (Sam Twumasi, Melville head coach) does a great job with his team so we knew they鈥檇 be tough. They had a small bench but they worked really hard for him.
鈥淥ur guys responded and we tired them out which was what we wanted to do during the game and then we took over from there to win.鈥�
Javier scored 21 points to lead all Sacred Heart scorers while Clarke once again picked up a double double with a 16 points, 11 rebound game.
The win propelled the Saints to the 鈥楥鈥� side final against the Moose Jaw 鈥� Vanier Vikings, who had earlier defeated Lumsden 66-27 to move to the finals.
A back and forth affair saw the Saints take a two point lead into the second quarter up 20-18, only to trail by two at halftime, down 34-32.
For the fourth consecutive game the Saints outscored their opponents in the third quarter, this time using a 21-13 third quarter to take a six point lead into the final quarter 53-47, however a tough fourth quarter saw the Saints score just six points, giving Vanier the only chance they needed to come back and pick up the win. Final score: Moose Jaw 鈥� Vanier 62, Sacred Heart 59.
Despite the loss coach Karcha felt that the final game of the tournament showed just how well the Saints can play, especially against fellow SHSAA 4A Conference teams. 鈥淲e played well against Vanier and I figured it would be a close game for us,鈥� mentioned Karcha, adding that he used the game more as a developmental tool than a competitive game. 鈥淭hese games are all wonderful to win, but it鈥檚 not the end all, be all, especially winning a 鈥楥鈥� consolation game so I ended up getting 13 guys into the game so that they can get some more experience before playoffs.鈥�
A second straight 21-point performance saw Javier lead the Saints in scoring, while Clarke picked up his fourth consecutive double double with 11 points and 18 rebounds.
Kormos was just one basket away from his first double double of the tournament, scoring eight points while hauling down 17 boards in the loss.
Next up
The next action for the Sacred Heart Saints senior boys鈥� basketball team will be this weekend when they travel to Lumsden.
