The YRHS Raiders senior boys basketball team traveled to Swift Current for their final tournament of the regular season this past weekend and returned to Yorkton with a 1-2 record.
The Raiders drew the short straw in the first game of the Doug Armstrong senior boys basketball tournament, as they had to face the high powered St. Mary Marauders; a team which is ranked second in the province behind only Weyburn.
The boys in orange held their own for a little while, but the depth and skill of the veteran Marauders enabled St. Mary to pull out a convincing 102-66 victory over the young Raiders.
While a 102-66 victory doesn't look like a success, YRHS Raiders head coach Jason Payne feels it's a decent result considering how St. Mary has been doing against other opponents. "They beat us by 36 but considering they've been totally dismantling teams lately (St. Mary has constantly beat teams by 50-plus points) it's really not horrible," stated Payne. "A good thing with a young team like this is getting exposure to teams such as St. Mary that play at such a high level. They get an opportunity to see what it looks like and it gives them a chance to try and replicate that style of play as they move forward."
The YRHS then faced the host Swift Current Colts in a Saturday morning game. A game which Payne felt was somewhat of a Jekyll and Hyde performance. "I wasn't very happy with the Swift Current game but I don't think anyone was very happy with that," said Payne, continuing. "We hung with them for the first half and then just sort of fell apart and lost by 30 points."
The final game of the tournament for the Regional saw the Raiders take on North Battleford.
The Raiders outplayed North Battleford for three quarters, but a weak fourth quarter allowed North Battleford to get back in to the game. Fortunately for the Raiders, North Battleford ran out of time resulting in a 56-51 Raiders victory.
Next action
The YRHS Raiders senior boys basketball team is off now until the weekend of March first and second when they will travel to Balgonie to take part in the Conference Playoff tournament.
