The Sacred Heart Saints senior boys basketball team struggled in a basketball tournament in Lumsden over the weekend.
The Saints went 1-2, dropping their first two games before winning the third to regain some lost pride.
In game one the Saints took on the host Lumsden Devils.
The Saints kept the game close throughout the first half. However the Devils, feeding off of the energy of the hometown crowd, pulled away in the second half to down Sacred Heart 64-40.
Saints offensive star Carter Ruff once again led his team in scoring, this time with 14 points.
While Ruff was his typical point scoring self, Saints head coach Garrett Karcha felt that the rest of his team was simply outplayed by a team that, quite frankly, wanted it more. "They were more aggressive than us, they out rebounded us and they came out ready to play on their home court and we didn't," said Karcha. "Their (Lumsden) coach told me that he was pleasantly surprised with how they came out to play (in front of their home crowd)."
Game two was much the same as game one. The only difference was the opponent as it was the Melfort Comets, this time, who outplayed the Saints for much of the game.
The result, a 68-32 loss to a team that is, arguably, one of the top basketball teams in the province.
Karcha believes that the Comets, as well as the Devils, benefited from a chance to scout his team during the York City Classic. Something that he was unable to do, as he was busy co-hosting the tournament with the YRHS. "Well, Melfort and Lumsden were both at the York City Classic last weekend so they saw us play and had a chance to scout us," offered the Saints bench boss. "They had a good game plan and shut down some of our strengths. They took it to us and it was pretty difficult for us."
Fortunately for Karcha his team bounced back with a convincing 62-47 victory over Shaunavon; A win in which talented grade 11 athlete David Ojo scored 19 points to lead the way.
While the win was great in the sense that it helped to rebuild lost confidence, it came at a price, as grade 12 leader Jaedon Pellatt left the game with an injury when his teeth went through his upper lip after he smashed his face against the floor.
Pellatt, in true form, opted not to seek medical attention. Instead, according to Karcha, he simply decided to let it heal by itself. "He could have gotten stitches the doctor said, but he didn't have to if he didn't want to and he didn't want to. It was already sealing shut," said Karcha, adding, "He's a tough kid."
Next action
The next action for the Sacred Heart Saints senior boys basketball team will be February 28th-March 1st when they take part in the Conference playoffs.
